[Smokewagon]

My other thread on pocket carry opened a different can of worms.

Do you or don't you carry in church?

The option "State doesn't allow it, but I do anyway has been left off.
Don't need to know about folks breakin' the law. :angel:

I say yes, by all means.

 

[locknload]

Smokewagon, my answer is yes!
I mentioned this before on other threads.
I play on the worship team at my local church.
Every time I'm up on stage playing my flute & percussions,
I am heeled.

My pastors know that I carry in church. They
have absolutely no problem with it. I have even taken one
of my pastors shooting!

 

[Ace]

Dpends on the wishes of the Pastor. Some don't care about it, others believe you shouldn't bring a weapon into church. But I will respect their wishes, because one shouldn't slight a preacher.

 

[frostyeyes]

YES it's like my AMERX card I don't leave home without it.

 

[mrglock]

Ace, I always say what they don't know.....

 

[locknload]

A little addition, if I may: I agree with Ace's comments about
respecting the wishes of the church pastor. This past Saturday,
we went to Joplin Missouri, to do a worship event at a church there.

I had my Glock27 with me. It was well concealed. We did our
worship service at this church. The people didn't know that I was
heeled. If for some reason, the pastor found out that I had my weapon,
& he asked me to not enter the church with it, then I would have
respected his request, & locked it up in my vehicle.

But again, as mrglock mentioned, "what they don't know." I'm not gonna
go into a place and state, "hey, I have a firearm with me, anyone have a
problem with that"? As for my particular church, as previously
stated, there isn't a problem with my being heeled.

As Forrest Gump so eloquently stated "that's all I have to say about that!"

 

[1SourceWeb]

MI forbids carry in a "place of worship or any property owned by a place of worship" unless the pastor allows it. Fortunately for me, my former pastor is an army Chaplain, and had no problem with CCW (I had to ask to stay legal). He passed on the policy to his replacement, who also has no problem with it (had to get new permission for the new pastor - just to stay legal).

And Yes. Any time.

"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." John 15: 13 (NIV)

 

[oldscot44]

I carry everywhere I legally can - including church. The crazies intent on mass killings seem to gravitate to locations they perceive to be unthreatening to them (schools, fast-food places, etc.) I don't anticipate encountering problems in church, but then, I'm not going to be a sitting duck either.

 

[Pierce]

I don't carry in church. I just don't feel right doing it and that is a personal preference. I figure, if someone is coming into the church gunning us down... well, we are all prepared to see our Heavenly Father. That doesn't mean I won't be applying some kung-fu on the gunman, though.

 

[SparkE!]

It's not allowed to carry concealed in a church or temple in Kansas. That stipulation was added (along with another provision prohibiting concealed carry at organized sporting events) in order to ensure that the concealed carry law would pass. Ironically, banks were taken off the places you can't carry concealed, also to ensure that the law would pass. Obviously these two concessions were made to satisfy the desires of two different groups of people.

 

[98redorangeta]

I'm not gonna go into a place and state, "hey, I have a firearm with me, anyone have a
problem with that"?

Thats a great quote.

Also about the conceled carry in banks thats one place I want a gun there is a deffinate chance of needing to defend your life in a bank robbery.

 

[locknload]

Here in Tulsa Oklahoma, the banks have a "no weapons" policy.
I do most of my transactions at the drive-up window.
When I have to enter a bank for any reason, I honor their
policy, & leave the firearm in the vehicle.

But God forbid, if ever there was an incident in the bank,
such as a robbery, & if I survive the event, I'd never again
enter a bank without my gun, policy or not. All bets are off!

And if anything ever did happen in the bank while I
was there, I would just try to be a good witness. Especially
if the robber did not try to harm anyone, firing shots, etc.,
the banks are insured.

I'm not a LEO, & I would not try to be a hero. But, if the guy
started slinging lead, well, I just don't know. Never been in that
kind of a situation, & never want to be. I realize all this is somewhat
apart from the "church carry" thread.

I was mainly addressing the comment that 98redorangeta stated
about the banks.

 

[pioneer461]

That's why we call them "concealed" firearms. Is a church a place that criminals and mad men respect and will not violate? Nope! There have been too many examples of each to believe otherwise.

A friend & co-worker, belongs to a church, mostly Black and in a very bad neighborhood. He not only carries, but his pastor has appointed him as a "Security Minister." He has gone to training, somewhere in Texas, where he learned about setting up an armed security program for his church, which he has done. He says that many pastors are finally beginning to realize that criminals are no respecters of the sanctity of the House of God, and they need to take steps to protect their flocks.

 

[pioneer461]

Here in Tulsa Oklahoma, the banks have a "no weapons" policy.

That's a policy, not a law. Keep it concealed, and no one will ever know. I doubt their stupid policy will prevent someone with a gun from robbing their stupid bank.

Consider making an appointment with the bank manager, and armed with the facts have a discussion with him or her about the fallacy of their policy. His stupid signs only keep out the law abiding gun owners. The folks who have been checked out by the cops, and get permission from the FBI to buy their guns are not a threat to their financial institution. You have a card in your wallet, certifying that the local sheriff considers you a good guy.

Remember Lubby's Cafeteria in Texas.

 

[dbsoundguy]

I sit in the soundbooth at the back, up a little..so i am always watching things..

I figure, if someone is coming into the church gunning us down... well, we are all prepared to see our Heavenly Father. That doesn't mean I won't be applying some kung-fu on the gunman,

Pierce has a very good point...
Can't forget that every breath we take comes from God :angel:

On the other hand..when i get my permit again.. Yes ;D

This can be a difficult thing to think about..as a Christian, sometimes I am caught between 2 worlds...
I know that i don't ever want to take a life...not my call..
Good Verse..Proverbs 3:5-8..I try to live that(although not very well )

But i will protect my family and others in a minute..
So this is not the easest thing to decide..
just my thought on that..
Every time i take my gun with me ,I wonder what i would do or if i could do it...
Guess when the time comes, I will know 8)

 

[MattHappyTrails]

A friend of mine recently put in a year in an African country training their police. The country has had a history of "ethnic cleansing". On Sundays churches of all congregations regularly have AK47 armed guards inside and out to protect the congregation - church sponsored.

 

[JimL]

But God forbid, if ever there was an incident in the bank,
such as a robbery, & if I survive the event, I'd never again
enter a bank without my gun, policy or not. All bets are off!

I'm puzzled by this. How does the need change when it has happened one more time out of thousands? The chances for a a BG and/or loony to come through the door are still the same. Right?

JimL

 

[Cimarron]

Having been a pastor for 40 years, this is a tough call. Like a lot of places there is almost a preference for a "don't ask, don't tell" policy. To put a clear "gun use policy" in place would almost set you up for a lawsuit from victims who will argue you have intentionally placed them in harms way, but to ignore any policy is to leave the situation to chaos and the feeling that the "Rambos" in the congregation are going to assume control.

I have thought about this some... churches need to have an "Emergency Response Policy" in place... which would include extreme weather... where to go, what exits to use. Many responses would build upon one another... plans for a "lock down" of the building, etc. One of the more important concepts should be a teaching about taking shelter in the sanctuary. My opinion is that "people" problems should never be allowed to enter the sanctuary, but should there be... people need to get flat and under anything. People who will be shot in a church are most likely standing... and a policy that would leave the "threat" as the only person standing should make it easier to remove the target.

Oh well it could go on... but I agree I'm not gonna go into a place and state, "hey, I have a firearm with me, anyone have a problem with that"? Too many young guys are dying to tell others, "I've got a gun!"

 

[JimL]

Having been a pastor for 40 years, this is a tough call.

Having been a "high-office" layman for as many, and an LEO as well, I've thought this through several times. Can a Christian legitimately be a cop? Can a Christian non-cop legitimately be a shooter?

Romans clearly points out that the "state" has the "power of the sword."

Non-cops must rely on something more general. I see it in a relatively simple way:

I believe in both literal God and a literal Devil. I see a long term controversy between them, carried out primarily on our planet. Having chosen to limit himself by choice, God has given "earthlings" the power of choice. Having used that choice badly they have come under the "banner" of God's enemy - the literal Devil.

Having given "earthlings" the power of choice, God must honor it. For them, that means they "suffer the consequences" of their choice. For God, that means the classic quandary of good versus evil. The out here is another quandary, justice versus mercy.

To make sense, God must end evil. But having given the power of choice he must allow evil. The solution is to let evil "run its course" as proof of its unacceptability, but end it when the time is right. At the same he must not to let those who wish to rejoin God's side be simply wiped out. Thus we see him protecting his loyalists "to an extent," but not taking them out of the real world. A major juggling act. The real world attacks anyone, loyalists and rebels alike showing proof of the "badness of bad."

Since God has limited his own options and permitted evil to play itself out, history hasn't been ended yet. The good book shows a sorry picture indeed of what eventually happens here and how the "loyalists" are finally rescued.

But since things are still in a state of flux, we must help ourselves in many cases and many ways.

JimL

 

[Steelheart]

http://www.gunblast.com/Christians_Packing_Guns.htm

Took some digging but I remembered an article that pertains to this.

Steelheart