Do you carry to Church?

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It wasn't church shootings that got me to CC in my house of worship; but the sight of some "upstanding citizens" from our barrio that feel Sunday will perhaps cleanse their souls from the previous week. :)
 
I'm just curious and maybe some of the other members can shed some light on this. Why is it most states do NOT allow carry in church,
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I can't speak to the other places you asked about, and I can't say for sure about church, but my understanding is that in Virginia, there were some denominations who objected to the "shall issue" law when it was being debated in the Virginia Legislature. The "no carry" in church without "good and proper reason", I believe is the wording, was added to get them to drop their opposition. What is "good and proper reason?" Your guess is as good as mine. The law to the best of my knowledge doesn't say.
 
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Yep understood. I read my FLA. places of "no carry allowed" and scratch my head as to why not. In my opinion and the way I see things is most of the places that are a no-no is where you would most probably need it. Maybe its just me. Whats the difference between a crowded grocery store and a local sporting event. Both may have a close enough # of people present so there for like I asked why not?
 
Nebraska

Here in Nebraska our lawmakers are now debating about allowing church carry. It appears that the media is pointing the finger at "rual rednecks" in favor of toting AK-47s in their long handles. Truth is upstanding inner city folks(I.E. Omaha, Lincoln, & Grand Island church goers) are responsible for bringing the issue to the table. I too think it is sad that some feel the need to "tote in church", but if it is not a crime to do so I will have my LCP in my front pocket @ sunday services. We can long for yesterday, but we must live by today. Getting a CCW is choice, useing it is a cival responcibility! Don't become a vigal anti because you have one, but don't have one if all you need is a gun safe!
 
There were two reasons to ban church carry.

1. Some foolish belief that the church is holy and thus you insulting some supernatural entity by carrying an instrument of violence. Since deities haven't expressed themselves on that issue, seems silly to me.

2. Antis throw up restrictions: church, movies, malls, etc. to make carry hard and discourage it.
 
Personal answer: I carry in church - it is legal to do so in my state, and I feel, as some here have expressed, that the protection of innocent lives is a duty that a Christian and a citizen of a free nation should feel. At a church that I previously attended, the pastor (not a gun owner) expressed appreciation and comfort in the knowledge that there were trained armed people at hand should an emergency arise. I have attended my current church for only a short time, and have not had a conversation on the subject, but if there is an objection then it will be my choice whether to leave my gun in the car or choose another place to worship.

Societal answer: Would it not be proper to ask whether those states that prohibit carry in churches are violating the separation of church and state? Under what auspices does the state dictate who and in what condition a worshiper may attend church? It seems to me that we have a situation in which some pastors and churches, like my previous one, who would welcome both the person and the protection of concealed carry, but are being told that they must chose between ministering to the person or enjoying the protection of his or her training and abilities.
 
glock06

I agree with your statement of a gun is just an inert tool. I really don't understand why so much emphasis is placed on ccw in church, ballgames, etc. Most of the guys in my church for sure have some kind of knife in their pockets. If someone was so inclined they could do as much or more damage with a good knife.

As I posted on this thread a couple days ago a shooting took place in a nearby town in a church. I would like to think that had there been someone carrying in there some injuries and maybe even the 2 deaths could have been avoided. At the very least the expense of the trial for the BG could have been saved.
 
I guess it's not a popular outlook here, but my preferences as far as where and when to carry are quite different from most in that the list of places to carry is very short. I am a photographer, and I go to all sorts of places to shoot photographs, and of course this involves carrying thousands of dollars of photographic equipment, which to someone could easily be worth doing me harm in order to obtain. If I find myself going to a place that's quite desolate, or otherwise dangerous (e.g. I wanna do some night photography downtown, where the homeless and/or drug-addicted seem to rule the night) then I think it's prudent to carry. Or if am hiking, doing nature photography, and there are bears, cougars, and other potentially dangerous animals (and there are, in the region of the country that I live) it's another place it makes sense to be armed. However, when it comes to daily life, going to the grocery store, going to dentist appointments, etc I really don't feel unsafe in those situations and I really don't feel any need to be armed. Now I know, there is the argument that it's better to carry and not need it, than to not carry and suddenly the need arises but I really am afraid, I would say, of becoming the kind of person the NEEDS to carry in order to feel safe anywhere I go, including church.
 
Think about it, if you wanted to kill a bunch of people for some off the wall reason. Would you,
1.Go to a gun free zone like a posted church or Post Office
2. Somewhere there are guns and you might get 3 shots off before you are taken out.
 
I carry everywhere it is legal to do so, including church on Sunday. I'm also an usher at the church and until the tithes and offerings are collected I'm standing in the back of the church near the doors.

I suppose there are two possible ways to look at this.

1) I'm the de facto security detail.

2) I'm the first one shot or shot at :eek:

I don't know if the pastor knows I carry or not. We've never talked about it. Several of the board of deacons are aware though. One happens to be my brother in law.
 
If legal and allowed I would. One of the worst mass murders in Texas happened in a church when a man came into a youth sevice and started executing teenagers before turning the gun on himself.
It happened at Wedgewood Baptist Church in Ft.Worth.
 
BTW in that incident he killed 7 people and wounded 7. One of my younger cousins was in that sevice. Shortly after it happened my aunt and uncle went through the process to get thier ccw. My cousint that was there now has a ccw too. I have had mine since age 21.
On another note most of the churches in that are now have armed security. I am not sure about the up to the minute current law in Texas, but in the past it was not legal to cary inside of the church. The church I went to for years before moving had armed security that were local PD that volenteered as security.
 
I had my 5 shot airwieght in my waistband and my LCP in my pocket last sunday.
YES I carry in church My pastor encorages me to.Our pastor also has a CCW but does not carry while preaching he is counting on myself and my other shooting buddie if something ever happens.
I offten carry an extra gun instead of extra ammo.:eek:
 
Now I know, there is the argument that it's better to carry and not need it, than to not carry and suddenly the need arises but I really am afraid, I would say, of becoming the kind of person the NEEDS to carry in order to feel safe anywhere I go, including church.
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See, many of us (I won't say most of us, because I'm not certain) but many of us and certainly myself don't carry specifically to feel safe. We carry because we want to carry and because we feel like it's the smart move. For many folks, a concealed handgun is another tool, like a pocket knife, cellphone or a flashlight, a useful device that we feel like we need or want to carry.

Most of us who carry won't specifically go to places where we feel it's unsafe to be, especially when we are armed. We don't strap on heat so that we can hang out with the drug dealers and gangbangers, for exactly the same reasons why we smile and slow down when someone cuts us off in traffic.

While armed, we are even more aware of the fact that we must avoid situations that could get us in trouble in a hurry.
 
Preparation v. Paranoia

I carry in the house of the Lord because I one of several staff members there and accept responsibility for being prepared to shepherd approximately 40-60 souls under my professional care when they're on site.

BTW: shepherds do/did carry weapons to protect the sheep in their care. The most famous shepherd of all, David, slung a mighty mean slingshot.

Ok, ok.....maybe Spock would take issue with this logic, but it's good enuff for me.

:cool:

Because our church is a larger physical plant prominently located in our mid-size town, we get a lot of...ahem...drop ins, traveling through. Some are ok.....some--not so much. Multiple entrances...hard to control access.....you get the picture.

There is also a children's program (day school).....lots of reasons to be prepared.

Very strong gun culture in these here parts, too, so I doubt if I'm the only one carrying, but have no knowledge of any other members who do. Concealed means concealed.

I once read a quote by someone who was confronted by an "anti" for carrying: "What are you so paranoid about--that you have to carry a gun?"

"Madam," the inteviewee answered, "I carry a gun. What do I have to be paranoid about?"

FBT
 
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