Safety's not the real game here. Frightened people are malleable. The goal here is to make mistakes happen, since armed people take unnecessary risks out of bravado, and frighten people yet more. These folks want to draw bright lines in the sand and cleave people from one another. And if they subvert the mission of churches in the process, too bad:
BATON ROUGE -- Persons who have have been qualified to carry concealed weapons should be able to keep them strapped on in a church or temple as a way to enhance security, a House committee said today.
The Committee on the Administration of Criminal Justice voted 8-3 for House Bill 68 by Rep. Henry Burns, R-Shreveport, sending it to more debate on the House floor.
The bill would allow a church to hire a security force or create its own by authorizing the church's board or pastor to tap parishioners who have concealed weapons permits to bring them to church. State law now bans weapons in houses of worship.
The bill does not limit the number of congregants who can be used as the security force.
Burns said his bill does not force churches to participate.
"If we are going to turn a church into the wild, wild West, how can we put our hearts and minds into God's business" asked Rep. Barbara Norton, D-Shreveport. "If we can't feel safe in church doing the business of the Lord, where else can we feel safe?"
Burns' bill was amended by Rep. Mack "Bodi" White, R-Central, to require a church that allows armed parishioners to serve as security guards to notify all members in announcements from the pulpit or in the weekly bulletin or newsletter.
Burns said the bill is needed to protect people who live in araes where crime may be a problem or where police response may be slow. "It is a church choice," he said. "We live in a different world today" where violent crimes invade church services.
No comments:
Post a Comment