The fact is despite the rare occurrences, churches are soft targets for mass shooting events like we saw with Dylan Roof. The thing I would want to prevent in my church is a feeling among the congregation that they need to come on Sunday packing. I don’t want guns in the church. So what I said is one solution to prevent members bringing guns. Whatever the solution is, it’s a decision made by the pastor and the senior leadership and communicated down to make everyone feel free to worship in peace. the pastor knows his square footage, entrances, location, and state of mind of his congregation. I think it’s a case by case basis for every church depending on the variables. My point is the pastor has a responsibility to put in place measures to ensure no reasonable member coming to worship ever feels the need to pack heat.
All establishments, including these, need to think about security. But the conditions in church are different from most of your examples. During a worship service, you have many people packed relatively closely together in a big room. Having security at the door (and the expense that entails) makes sense in that context. Having security in a flower shop to protect the one florist and the two customers doesn't make as much sense. A grocery store is more similar, but people are coming and going constantly, and it at least affords the benefit of lots of shelving to provide cover in an incident. Maybe most similar is an Applebee's where people stay for a good bit of time in an open room, and they're sitting down. Restaurant margins probably don't allow for an armed security guard at the door and the best they can probably do is have the phone number to the security company that patrols the mall parking lot.
Nah, you just need a 3d printer, which you can get at MicroCenter for $100. https://www.khou.com/article/news/c...guns/285-d9ee9345-427e-41c2-b4f6-585032eae803
My church is building a pillbox in front for that very reason... just have to hope the churchgoers don't bring flamethrowers.
I don't support the 2nd, but with that said, I don't care if churches choose to implement in their congregations the right to carry. If they are cool with everyone having a gun, then so be it. I wouldn't attend that church personally and that would be the end of that.
nothing would make me feel safer at a church than someone with an uzi or a semiautomatic handing me the collection plate
To argue guns aren't dangerous is a bit ridiculous. There is a legit public safety concern with guns. We regulate cars, we regulate air quality and water, we regulate toxic chemicals and we regulate alcohol. The idea that we shouldn't regulate guns because gun owners have a paranoid fear that the libs are trying to take their guns away is ridiculous.
So are music concerts and repertory film screenings or theater performances of any kind, but I've been to EYC lock-ins and forced outings that featured all four.
He cited the low occurrence of gun violence in churches as his argument. His own stats preclude him from claiming guns being allowed in churches is a public safety concern.
I'm not a he. I clarified how ridiculous I thought it was to feel a necessity to carry a gun in a church. I don't think guns in the hands of civilians should be allowed in any public place, period! Too many crazies shooting people in road rage, and other areas outside of churches. They kill one moment then go pray the next.
A thread about guns in church, pros and cons, and some people just can't resist the urge to thrown in their anti-Christian/anti-religion smarm onto things. Why not just sit out the thread instead of trying to make it seem like you're somehow smarter than people that go to church. Head up: you aren't.
I agree that is indeed your argument. Your argument cannot possibly be about guns specifically in church.
I think that's for each church to decide. I can understand a place of worship wishing to have some kind of defense given the terrorist attacks we've seen on them over the past few years from extremists. You've had right wing nuts (Christian and Muslim extremists) attack all sorts of places.
DaDakota coming in as the threads voice of reason. Personally I find those who are highly opinionated (and very often irrational) the most dangerous in the gun culture. Some people, like the OP, should never handle any weapons.
I suspect that if you could get a 100% honest poll (truth serum or mind reading) the majority (51%+) of Americans are either atheist or agnostic.
