Church Carry


Lakeland Man

New member
More and more, I'm seeing posts about carrying in church. Have they really become THAT dangerous? I agree that you should carry everywhere you are allowed by law. It just seems to me that many people are either carrying in church, or dying in church because they (or no one else) aren't carrying.

I'm glad I never set foot in one. I'll stick with crack-town.

:laugh:
 

Carrying in church, carrying in the shower---all the threads are out there. I understand what ifs and I understand being prepared etal but I cannot but think that paranoia is out there, at least with some of our forum members. Where in the world do all of you live and what do you do during your daily lives? I have said this before but I am 69 years old, living most of the time in NY/NJ, not exactly peaceful heaven, and have never come close to anything resembling the stories and threads that I read in this forum. Just hoping, I guess, that in the safety and impersonal confines of your computer room, there is room for exaggeration and embellishment.
 
It's illegal to carry in church in Missouri without the consent of the Pastor and or the govorning body.
Police officers still need permission acording to my reading of the law.
 
Hmmm...unless something happens conceal is conceal. If you are dressing up without your gun, you put yourself in danger when the IFs happens no matter where you go outside of your bathtub. If your gun is part of your daily wardrobe routine, does it matter whether you carry in church or at the shopping mall? It is good people carry in church nowadays and aware of it.
 
It just seems to me that many people are either carrying in church, or dying in church because they (or no one else) aren't carrying.

I'm glad I never set foot in one. I'll stick with crack-town.

:laugh:
Most people see church as a place for saints to go to..
And I guess some are..
But a real church is a Hospital for people that are hurting..
Sometimes the people that are hurting just don't get better (For lots of reasons) just like in a medical hospital..

As for setting foot in one... Sounds like you are Anti-religious.
So am I..
I just don't let that stand in the way of my relationship with God!!!
 
HootmonSccy:231111 said:
Most people see church as a place for saints to go to..
And I guess some are..
But a real church is a Hospital for people that are hurting..
Sometimes the people that are hurting just don't get better (For lots of reasons) just like in a medical hospital..

As for setting foot in one... Sounds like you are Anti-religious.
So am I..
I just don't let that stand in the way of my relationship with God!!!
Amen brother, and well said. Wish I could Like a post from my phone.

Not carrying in church "because nothing ever happens there" is like not wearing your seatbelt because you're a safe driver. Yes, churches are generally safe, but I've read reports of robberies even during services, right after offerings are collected.
 
I carry in church because I walk through some rougher parts of town to get to church. Despite where our building is we've only had one or two instances when a crackhead or otherwise unstable person started nosing around where he didn't belong, and considering one of the pastors is a cop and a husband/wife duo are both field agents for the FBI and regularly carry, I think things would have to go very south if *I* had to pull my gun.
 
Maybe I'm a paranoid conspiracy theorist. Maybe I'm a fanatic. Maybe I'm just a realist. Whatever the case may be, I try to think like a criminal so I can be one step ahead. I try to look at every situation from the angle of "how could a criminal take advantage of this situation?" Most criminals are cowards who prey on the weak and defenseless. Church is a classic example of a place a criminal might assume that they could commit a crime with little chance of resistance, because they are usually filled with "nice" people, and nobody has knives or guns or anything else.

But church is just one example. There are many situations where carrying goes against the status quo. The important thing to remember is that the criminals know what the status quo is, too, and will use it to their advantage. So we choose. Do we fall in with the crowd and leave our defenses behind? Or do we maintain our right and duty as free citizens to protect ourselves and our loved ones?

I know what my choice is.
 
I run the children's programming for our church. I don't carry on Sundays because
1. we have a security team with several of our guys carrying
2. I have too many kids hugging me

now, when I'm there during the week and late in the evening...carry that baby!
 
I help my church's "accountant" count the contributions on Sunday and have never really thought about how easy it would be for a 'bad' guy to easily walk in and leave with several thousand in cash. I don't carry in church, maybe because I've always felt safe there. As stated before "how would a criminal take advantage of a situation?" state of mind can open your eyes.
 
Link Removed


Update 12/10 11:05am Eastern. New Life Church Pastor Brady Boyd is speaking to the media right now. He reports that the female church security guard rushed toward the gunman in the building when she heard shots ring out. She was stationed at a rotunda. She has a law enforcement background. “She probably saved a hundred lives.” They put the security/evacuation plan in place after hearing about the first church attack. Volunteers joined security details. Armed security all have licenses to carry.

Pastor Boyd: “We’re so grateful to God for giving us the wisdom to do that.”
 
I went through the process to carry at church in MO. Why...
1. On the way to church or on the way home I am most likely going to stop at a gas station near my home where a young man was killed for a few dollars. (And it is a nice area of town.)
2. Most likely we will go out to eat after church. AKA fellowship! YUM!
3. A church is a very risky place. As noted above... people know there is cash there. People come there for help and sometimes don't like what they hear. (Hopefully, truth and grace.) Pastors do counseling of all types of people.

A side note: A church is not a place that only saints go. The rest of us attend too. I too can't stand religion. It isn't about religion, It is about a relationship.
 
Most people see church as a place for saints to go to..
And I guess some are..
But a real church is a Hospital for people that are hurting..
Sometimes the people that are hurting just don't get better (For lots of reasons) just like in a medical hospital..

As for setting foot in one... Sounds like you are Anti-religious.
So am I..
I just don't let that stand in the way of my relationship with God!!!
If I can press 10 likes in your post, I would have done a hundred 10s of them. Brilliant!
 
Carry can be compatible with church

In Virginia, state code says carry in a place of worship during services is prohibited *without good reason.* The gun-friendly AG said this summer that self-defense is a good reason, meaning he won't prosecute you if you have a concealed weapon in a church, synagogue, mosque or any other place of worship.

I started carrying my Kel-Tec P3AT in church after the AG's announcement. I even have it when I assist in serving communion, because I don't have anywhere else to put it. I wrestled with the seeming contradictions of trusting in God versus taking precautions, and also whether carrying distracts from proper worship. The P3AT is so small and unobtrusive, I don't even think about it during service. As for trusting in God, I should and do trust God wherever I go, so if I felt that meant not carrying at church (as a sign of my trust), it should mean not carrying at work, the store and everywhere else. However, each worshipper needs to make that decision for himself or herself. If it is a distraction, leave it at home or in the car.

Are churches dangerous? Since the recession, we've had many more people walk in at all hours and during services looking for handouts. We have a benevolence fund set up to help all comers, but we don't give to everyone with no questions asked. When someone's story sounds fishy, we ask questions and sometimes people have gotten belligerent. We run a preschool and have had a few too many incidents of people threatening the preschool teachers — so much so we installed secure doors. Now parents have to buzz in. It sucks. Church is a place for the needy and lost to find comfort, but we can't minister to our kids and teachers if they feel like they're in danger.

I guess that's really why I carry at church. Perhaps it's a small, secret ministry to protect others, one that I'm sure I'm woefully underqualified for. Fortunately, we have in our congregation a sheriff's deputy who has sometimes come to church in uniform, fresh from a shift. Plus, I can't count the number of churchmates I've run into at gun shows and the range. I suspect if an armed intruder interrupted a service, I might be the last person to need to draw. Fine with me.
 
Why wouldn't you carry in church? It's not to protect yourself from the regular attendees necessarily, but rather from the nutbars who are looking for easy victims in a demographic that they hate. It's to protect yourself from the gang-bangers at the gas station when you fill up on the way to church. It's to stop the psycho at the IHOP that you eat at after church. It's to drop the crackhead that broke into your house while you were out.

You can't predict violence, but you can prepare for it.
 
Keeping the members safe.

I carry in church because we have had pimps, ex-spouses , and former gang associates coming in looking for people.
I want to ensure that church is a safe place.
If your church is not reaching out to people like this maybe you should read the gospels again.
 
Some want to live within the sound of church or chapel bell;
I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell.

C. T. Studd, 1860-1931.
English missionary to China, India, and Africa
 
Look around and you'll find a thread somewhere about a church in CO that got all shot up. The BG was taken out by a part time parishioner/security person. I've been OCing everywhere, and now wonder if on the rare occasion I don't carry "what if?". What if the one time I don't carry is when something bad happens. So I would carry even at a church (if I went). Although some states put churches on their off limit list. Making them an un-armed victim zone.
 

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