Here is a fun one, do you carry in Church?

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poperszky

New member
I have been a Christian since 1974, a Southern Baptist since 1984, and a Pastor from 1990 - 1998. Never kept guns around the house during that period, just wasn't interested. I grew up in a household where guns were for hunting and I don't like to hunt.

Well about three years ago I re-married (first wife took a hike) and my new wife and I picked up a hand gun for self defence while touring on our motorcycle. One thing lead to another and it turned out we both loved to shoot. I also acquired my CCW and started packing more and more, until I rarely leave the house without it. Now, I have wrestled with the issue of carrying a gun while I am in Church. Now there is nothing in our church constitution that forbids it, and I have not discussed this with the Pastor or other members, but from time to time I wrestle with the fact that I would probably offend people if they knew.

How do any of you people who attend church handle this issue?
 
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AnotherPundit

New member
I believe that during the frontier days & revolution there were laws that actually mandated what types of arms people were *required* to bring to church. It's all a matter of culture & perspective more than anything else -- and our efforts should be to change that culture and perspective, by being aggressively open about our stance on RKBA.
 
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iso1

New member
I have, on occasion, carried to church. So have other members of my family.

I see no problem with it.
 
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pax

New member
I haven't been to church without my gun in almost a year, since I got my carry permit.

I haven't mentioned it to the pastor, nor to anyone at church. What I wear under my clothing is no one else's business.

Remember the shooting at the church in Texas awhile back? Bet some of those people wished they'd been able to protect the innocents.

pax
 
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swampyMO

New member
Guys,

I was talking with a fellow highpower shooter on the phone last night when the conversation took a skewed turn. I think we were discussing the fact that highpower matches on the weekends conflict with a lot of guys church schedules. He goes on Sunday, I go on Saturday.

He related that he is just about to change churches because his pastor has, in the last year or so, made several referrences to and a couple of complete sermons bashing firearms ownership in general and condemning the NRA in particular. He then told of an acquaintance that he works with who said that his church (Free Will Baptist, I think he said) recently had a "Blessing of the Arms". Churchgoers were asked to bring in any firearms or weapons that they might wish to be blessed by annointing and prayer. He said that there were quite a number of shotguns, handguns, & rifles brought in, including a couple of Krags and one '03 Springfield.

Most everyone in my church is pro-RKBA, but this is the first time I've ever heard of a "Blessing of the Arms". Would have to look up the biblical precedents for that one. Anyway, I loved the concept. ;-)

Swampy
 
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Double Naught Spy

New member
Bad things can and do happen to good people and sometimes happen in good places, like church. If it is legal where you are, then do it freely, but be completely discrete about it. What you do that offends people that no one knows about will remain something they simply should not know about. This may be the fact you carry a gun or that you wear those silly looking sock garters with shorts at home when no one else is around.

There are a lot of things that "offend" people, but that is a true copout. People need to get a life and not worry about the 90% of trivial stuff that offends them. I think a gun, carried carried discretely, falls in that category.

I don't know what your personal convictions are, but if you are at the pulpit when evil walks in your door, you will be the only one who sees it coming, the congregation facing you. What you choose to do will have the added option of protecting those people with something a little more convincing than words. It is just an option, not a must-do thing.

Also, people of the cloth suffer crime just like everyone else, churches do like other buildings, and the religious aspect of your job and work place may bring additional and unwanted attention on your from unfriendly sources.

Besides, it might be your chance to make a couple of conversions if something goes terribly wrong. People under fire become religous very fast.
 
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straightShot

New member
Yes, I do.

There haven't been any problems, but our Michigan state legislators are bound and determined to protect us from ourselves. Come July 1st, with the improvement in handing out CCW licenses statewide, it becomes illegal in Michigan to carry in churches and other places that are now legal. I'll have to disarm myself.

straightShot
 
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poperszky

New member
swampyMO, They do something similar in Salt Lake, but only in respect to Motorcycles. Every year we have a blessing of the bikes, as far as biblical precedent, I personally look at it as an attempt for the religious community (Christian in our case) to open lines of communication with people they normally wouldn't come in contact with.

Appreciate all your comments, while I know that some would be offended by the fact that I carry in Church, some would also be offended by the glass of wine that my wife and I enjoy on a regular basis. I do not use the "giving of offence" as the sole determiner in making a decision, but it is always at least considered.

On a different rant though, for those of you that live in states that make it illegal to carry in a church (which is after all is private property), what in the world are they thinking. I know, stupid question - They weren't! But that whole issue is a hot button, if our church wanted to ban handguns from our property, it would be brought up in a business meeting, voted on and if it passed we would post signs. Why would you need a law???

Terry
 
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AUTiger73

New member
Packing at the Preaching.

My North American (NAA).22Magnum Mini Revolver is my everywhere gun ... and that means church and other places where I can't carry my Combat Commander or S&W Chiefs Special. When not carried as a primary weapon, it is carried as a back-up.

Also a Southern Baptist, I sit behind my friend the Sheriff every Sunday in church. If TSHTF he would likely appreciate the backup and certainly I would do anything to help a friend. Make no mistake about it, we are at peace in our time of worship, but you never know when the devil may arrive.

Frankly, I am unsure about the law pertaining to carrying a concealed weapon in church and don't really want to know. But I am sure of my God given rights and no law will take those away from me. We don't do "show and tell" at Sunday School, meaning the guns stay in our pockets. Yes, I'm sure others are packing their piece as well. It is something no one talks about.

In closing, anyone that carries concealed in church must understand that its use in an emergency would be very limited in such crowded conditions. God forbid it ever comes to this, and if it did one must be extremely prudent in the use of deadly force so that no innocents are hurt.
 
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E. BeauBeaux

New member
Yes, and I don't have any bad feelings about it. When I go to my Mom's for the weekend and we attend her church, she was upset with me the first time she found out but hasn't said anything since.
 
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jwise

New member
I love this topic of conversation.

A few years ago, my friend and I were having this same conversation. It all started when I noticed that he always left his gun at home when we went to church, and this one day I called him out on it. He made the statement that he doesn't believe a church is a dangerous place, after all, who would shoot up a church? Well, I made a prediction to him, that it wouldn't be long before we would hear of a "church shooting", much like the other "work/school/post office shootings" we were growing familiar with. He and I both hoped I was wrong. The next year Wedgewood Baptist Church in Fort Worth (we live in Dallas) was shot up in an evening praise and worship service. It was targeted for no good reason at all, other than it was the first church the shooter thought of.

So, yes, I carry. Our former facilities manager used to keep an AR and a G21 with him when he would be up at the church at night and "after hours." The former associate pastor was rumored to keep a derringer in his pocket. My dad always has his G23 with him. Others in the church (including a young couple I'm friends with) carry on a regular basis. My church has membership who own Class 3 firearms as well, and discussing the previous days range sessions are always "good taste." However, like it was already said, we don't have "show and tell" in Sunday school either.
 
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Doc Hudson

New member
AUTiger,

Unless the laws have changed since I left Alabama, there is nothing about forbidding CCW in Church.

Terry,

My friend Jim Taylor once embarrassed himself by having his Chief Special slide down his pants leg and go scooting across the floor as he blessed the offering. He still carries Mexican style though.

Personally I'd feel much better attending a church with a Pistol Packing Preacher in the pulpit. I would know that not only did my minister worry about my soul, but he was interested in defending my body from evil as well.

It is against the law to carry a firearm in church in Mississippi, so I admit nothing, but I will tell a story. About eleven years a go, a family near Tupelo came home from church to find three burglars ransacking their home. Taken by surprise and not wanting to risk the safety of his wife and three children, the Father did not offer any resistance. All five were bound. The Mother, both daughters and the son were all sexually assaulted and murdered before the eyes of the man of the house before they animals mercifully put a bullet in his head. They then set fire to the house. I'm happy to say all three were caught and convicted, but unfortunately at least two of them are still alive and unexecuted.

Draw your own conclusions about whether or not I carry to or in church.

BTW, You might enjoy a visit to the Pistol Packin' Preachers Association website at: http://www.angelfire.com/nt/ppp/
They are a fine bunch of folks.

Good Shooting and God Bless,
Doc Hudson
 
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poperszky

New member
Thanks Doc, just bumped over there and it looks like a lot of fun. Just email the webmaster for admission to the group.
 
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IZZY

New member
To John and all inhabitants of the Commonwealth of Virginia,


It is not illegal to carry a concealed handgun into a "Church" ( defined as a regisetred place of worshop, so in my case we will say "Synagog").

The code of Virginia states that it is illegal to carry a gun into a church with out good cause. In other words if you feel yopur life is in imminant danger it should be fine for you to carry.

Such was the case around the "Julian" calender date of "2000", especialy since the L.A.shooting and the recent world wide attacks against American and Jewish targets. Many people were worried that some nut might pick on a bunch of unarmed Jews...

Thus I have "good cause" to fear for my life and a biblical responsibility to protect others. I dont carry every time,though that may change soon.
 
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kjm

New member
My church is over 100 years old. When they first built it and started the church, this area was still crawling with Comanches. I suppose that since those living out in the sticks had to travel quite a way (up to 15 miles) to get to church, and that travel sometimes took them a whole day (wagon with family goes slow), I presume that they were expected to have a firearm at church.

In keeping with that, I carry too. My Makarov is the only thing I've got that is easy to conceal, but if I ever start wearing a jacket to church, I'll carry a larger thing. Wedgewood Baptist isn't the only church that will get shot up. I'd bet money that anther will too, so I won't take any chances with my family or the other families in my church. BTW, I go to a Presbyterian USA church which is pro-UN, Anti-gun, and so is the preacher. The congregation isn't though, and many of them are competitive shooters.
 
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