Concealed Carry in Church: Do / Did / Will you?

POLL: Concealed Carry in Church: Do / Did / Will you?

  • Total voters
    73
  • Poll closed .
How is it legal to carry in a school? I thought carry in schools was illegal under federal law
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Not against federal law, just depends on state or local law.

https://bci.utah.gov/concealed-fire...ed-firearm-permit-frequently-asked-questions/

Scroll down to third question.

Private schools can still deny concealed carry on their property and in their vehicles, but any school that receives public money is legal to carry. Legal for teachers and staff to carry as well, but not for students even if they are of legal age and have a permit.

You’ll also notice if does include houses of worship in the excluded areas. If you dig a little deeper into the the state law, if you ask for and receive permission, it’s legal to carry.
 
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I carry everywhere there aren't restrictions backed up with a metal detector. If I ever need to use deadly force, the where will not matter. Can't think of a much higher risk location than a school event where an angry ex will act out some twisted idea of justice or revenge. Really, has there ever been a school shooting?
A person charged with a violent offense (domestic abuse, terroristic threat, etc.) may have legally purchased a firearm years prior. Their firearms should be impounded once charged and confiscated if convicted.
 
Atheist now, didn't carry then.

On those few occasions I do attend, weddings and funerals etc., I don't plan to carry.
 
I carried at my wedding, and we didn't have no drama.

In the 'wedding video' you can see me getting ready and I'm putting my uniform on over my Glock.

I feel naked without a gun. Doubley-so if I'm with my family.
 
Here in Texas, I carry openly as my preferred method and conceal only when the law or the circumstances require. I carry openly in and around my church, concealing only in the sanctuary during worship.
 
Our church was set on fire by arsonists a few years back which caused major damage. We were displaced for nearly a year before repairs were done. We had been in the same building for over 30 years and never had any problems with the neighbors. Since then we added surveillance cameras and a monitored alarm system. I actually had the Senior Pastor ask me (and others he knows likes to shoot) if we carry. He is all for responsible gun owners carrying because he understands that the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. I haven't had the time to take him to the range, but I will make it a point when I do have time. Fortunately, there are quite a few gun enthusiasts in our church.
 
I have carried to church for several years, in Missouri you have to ask permission from the pastor. I have permission, if I didn't I would go somewhere else.

We have quit a few conceal carry members, as well as three MO highway patrol officers, one game warden and a sheriff's deputy. I am pretty sure they all have their back up guns at least I hope so.
I know one of the MO HP officers is on a security team we have in place.
 
It also revolves around the basic problem that most CHL/CCW types don't carry religiously. I have friends who are now tuning up to carry to services.

Not to beat the dead horse, but if you are planning to carry in a high people density environment because of a significantly heavily armed opponent - you might consider more than the small semi or J frame and getting training and practice beyond few rounds on the square range one or twice a year.

Not to say that something with a LCP might not save the day - but it's better to be up to speed.
 
Glenn, I was thinking the other day that it would be nice to see some sort of organized effort to provide us civilian folks who carry on a regular basis some mass shooter specific training. Maybe something that includes local law enforcement, local instructors, ranges, gun stores, etc. Personally, I would find a program put together by such a group much more credible than something offered by some "tacticool" type of "instructor" that comes across as being more full of himself than anything else.
 
Of course I carry at church. I can't think of a good reason not to. My wife, the good Lord and a couple of others know. It really isn't anyone elses business.

TruthTellers you don't have to make a spectacle of yourself for church goers to know this world is messed up.
 
SonOfScuba - if you do your homework, you would find many quality individuals and groups that put forward such training and engaging in such planning.

If you think the tactical world is dominated by 'tacticool' folks, you haven't been looking and such sarcasm indicates that you are not in touch. We've pointed out to you that your world view of self-practice is insufficient and you admitted you need training because what you think is right for you is not enough.

There are plenty of quality options in the Midwest. It is your job to look for such.
 
Glenn, I live in a rural area, so there isn't much available around here. The range I go to for practice has only recently started offering SD classes, and I'm hoping to be able to go now that my work schedule has changed. Other than that, the only thing I've been able to find is USPSA and IDPA, but that's competition. Granted, either would help me to sharpen my shooting skills but they don't really offer much more than that.

And yes, thus far I've seen many more of the "tacticool" type of instructors online that I wouldn't spend my money on, even if I could get the time off to take the classes they offer, than legitimate instructors. I'm sure there are the quality individuals and groups you speak of, but I'm not having a lot of luck finding out who they are. I'm guessing that part of that is because I'm fairly new to shooting (17 months), and haven't made many friends in the shooting community yet.

Since making the post you are responding to, I've decided to contact the police chief here in town to see what he suggests, so maybe something will come from that. I don't go to church so I don't know if any of the local congregations have thought about organizing in such a way.
 
Then perhaps, you might stop making blanket statements. You are critical without the knowledge base to make your conclusions. The information is readily available and to be so critical doesn't impress.
 
Glenn, whether you like it or not, I speak from my experience. Frankly, I'm growing weary of every post I make on this site getting picked apart for no apparent reason other than to find devils where none exist. The simple fact of the matter is that most of the classes I've found online are offered by people I find to be very full of themselves. That doesn't mean I think everyone offering these classes falls into the "tacticool" category, and I don't appreciate you jumping to that conclusion.
 
Maybe something that includes local law enforcement, local instructors, ranges, gun stores, etc.
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LE rarely weighs in on this kind of thing officially, unless it's to provide very general guidelines like the one in this document: http://alerts.si.edu/docs/DHS_ActiveShooterBook.pdf

Gun stores sometimes affiliate with, or provide trainers who provide very basic firearm instruction, but it's not common for them to be involved with providing more advanced instruction.

Local classes are more likely to be focused on things like acquiring handgun licenses, basic firearm safety, etc. I know some instructors in my area, I don't know any that provide anything like active shooter response classes.
The simple fact of the matter is that most of the classes I've found online are offered by people I find to be very full of themselves.
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It's fairly common for instructors to be somewhat ego driven. After all, people are spending significant amounts of money and time to hear what they have to say and learn what they have to teach.

Also, an instructor who doesn't sound sure of himself/herself isn't going to inspire confidence in those who train with them. So some of what appears to be ego can just be self-assurance, whether natural or projected intentionally.

After all, how much of your money are you willing to pay to train under a person who doesn't seem confident and who seems to imply that there are other trainers who can teach you exactly the same things?
...I live in a rural area, so there isn't much available around here.
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That's not unusual. Even living in a metropolitan area doesn't insure that quality training of the type you need will be available locally. I live in the DFW area, and will be driving to a rural area next year to take a pistol training class. The training is out there, but sometimes (maybe even most of the time) you should expect to have to go find it.

The problem is that there just doesn't seem to be enough demand for this type of training to support lots of distributed trainers and training locations.
 
TFL does not offer a safe room with coloring. If one posts an opinion, you are open to criticism if what you opine is incorrect. The devils are in what you post.

TFL is gentle as compared to some other venues. If I said that I cannot find a good trainer, quite easily, then I deserve to be corrected.

Perhaps in current college environment, critiques are not in style. We are cantankerous but knowledgeable old toots. Many of our participants have quite a base of information. Thus, if you post, you expose yourself to winds of peer review.
 
JohnKSa, maybe I need to take the bull by the horns and see what I can do to get something like what I'm talking about started around here. I really do think that some sort of collaboration between LE, gun shops, ranges, reputable instructors, and interested gun owners would benefit communities. I admit to not knowing how to go about it though. I'm planning on going to the range this Saturday (it's 35 miles from here), so I'm definitely going to talk with them about my idea.
 
If you're going to do that, you need to get smart on the topic first so you don't waste your time and theirs.

A good first step is to look at what kind of Active Shooter classes are currently available around the country to get a feel for what they focus on, how long they typically run, how much they typically cost, prerequisites, required facilities and materials, etc.

From there, you can decide what level of classes are feasible given the available resources. And in the process, if you find a training facility that is already offering what you want, you could just go ahead and take that class.

By the way, I get the feeling that the idea is to something put together that people can take at no cost. If that is the goal, then the thing to do is to download the pdf in the link I provided earlier and study that. You can get a guest speaker, fill a room and provide some "training" that lasts an hour or two for a roomful of people who sit and listen while the speaker briefs a presentation. Here's an example:

http://www.depts.ttu.edu/ttpd/active_shooter.php

If the goal is to provide something more concrete/practical/active than general guidelines for what to do in an active shooter situation then it might not be realistic to pursue providing no-cost training.
 
Perhaps not exactly what you have in mind, but start by checking the NRA training web site to see if anyone in your are offers Personal Protection Outside the Home. It's not "tactical," SWAT-grade training, but it is geared to keeping people alive on the streets.
 
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