Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark (like Cupich, a Pope Francis pick) weighed in recently on Americans’ gun rights. He admits that we have them — though he seems to think such rights come from the Constitution, not from God.

But he wants us to give them up. “Voluntarily.” For the sake of “peace” and “the common good.” Tobin calls for “voluntary self-restraint” as a solution to the “gun violence” epidemic.

I don’t think these words mean what he thinks they mean. Because throughout his letter, Tobin calls for the government to pass laws severely limiting Americans’ access to firearms, beyond the already odious barriers faced by Americans in blue states and cities, such as his own Newark, New Jersey. That’s not “voluntary,” and it’s not “self-restraint.” It’s mandatory and coercive, enforceable by cops who will come to your house carrying guns, and threatening you with prison.