Anti-Christian Terrorism: This Is Why You Should Carry At Church

       Another mass shooting by a left wing terrorist. This time, it was David Patrick Kelley, an anti-Christian atheist and fan of CNN (see also here), who went into the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas on Sunday, and opened fire, killing 26 and wounding 20. He had reportedly been sending threatening text messages to his mother-in-law in the days prior to the attack. Stephen Willeford, who lived near the church, received word from his daughter that Kelley was at the church killing people. Willeford got his own rifle, and confronted Kelley when Kelley stepped outside the church. Kelley apparently intended to continue his massacre outside the church. However, Willeford shot and wounded Kelley, who then fled in a vehicle. Willeford and another man, Johnnie Langendorff, then pursued Kelley at speeds of up to 95 mph until Kelley lost control of his vehicle and crashed. Kelley apparently killed himself following the crash.

(Source)

       Although some news reports suggest that Kelley had body armor, there is no official verification of this, and it is likely that Kelley was merely sporting a load bearing vest or some other "tacti-cool" gear.

       Churches and other places of worship are not common sites of shootings, but neither are they unknown. (See this article for a list of several such shootings since 2012). Concealedcarry.com reports that only 4% of active shooter events are at churches, but this still meant that there were 87 such shootings at churches between 2005 and 2015. Churches are not only easily identifiable, but are generally soft targets. There typically is no security. During meeting times, outside doors are left unlocked and probably not monitored or only monitored by an usher who is there to assist people, not provide security. Meeting halls generally are oriented so that the main entrances are at the rear of the hall, and so worshippers have their backs to the entrances. According to the Concealedcarry.com article I cite above, there are two states (Nebraska and Louisiana) that prohibit carrying a concealed weapon inside a church; and 8 additional states the only allow it with the permission of a church leader. Of course, this doesn't include states where a land owner may prohibit carrying of a weapon on the premises.

       I'm actually surprised at the low percentage of shooting incidents at churches. I remember back in 2008 when Proposition 8 in California (banning same sex marriage) was being hotly debated, the LDS church was, in particular, singled out for its support of the proposition. There were, during that time, several reported incidents of protesters entering LDS churches and disrupting meetings and assaulting worshippers. My belief at that time was that if the left were to continue to focus on blaming Christians for issues in the cultural war, that such incidents would increase, and that some left-wing wackos would probably resort to deadly violence. So, I committed at that time to always carry a concealed handgun to church services and activities. However, I live in a jurisdiction where no permission is necessary and there is no legal mechanism by which carrying concealed on a property automatically becomes a crime merely by posting a sign or some other act by the property owner.

     If you live in an area where permission is not required, should you ask for permission anyway? Again, returning to the Concealedcarry.com article, the author answers this question in the negative:

        If you live in a state where churches are not off limits, and assuming your church doesn't outwardly prohibit it, should you ask permission? No, you shouldn't ask, but it may be a good idea to ask if there is a security team in place or volunteer to start one. 

        You should never feel obligated to ask permission to carry your firearm anywhere you have a legal right to have it. With that said, it is common for churches to form a security team of volunteers who are positioned, organized, and often trained to response in an emergency. Your contribution to your own security and that of others will be far greater if you are a part of that organized response.

        And if you live in a jurisdiction where permission is required should you ask? Probably yes, but do so with the understanding that you need to be prepared to argue for why you should have permission. If you are an LEO, it may be enough that the church leader knows you are an LEO, together with some comments about church security. Perhaps you could even volunteer to select some others to assist with security issues. If you are not LEO, though, you are going to face a harder time convincing your church leader as to why you, in particular, should be allowed to carry, even if he otherwise buys into the notion that it might be a good idea to have one or two armed people in the congregation.

        Finally, should you carry without permission in a non-permissive environment? That, my friend, is something you will need to decide. Notwithstanding the events surrounding Proposition 8, I don't think we are currently facing a threat aimed specifically at churches ... primarily because the left has won the cultural wars and, therefore, churches don't pose a significant threat to the spread of their ideology. This may change, however, if the left begins to equate Christians with Trump supporters. And, of course, there is always the issue that a member of your congregation may have a crazy ex- decide to shoot up the place.