Bill requiring churches to allow guns during worship passes Louisiana House

 From Louisiana-

As Rev. Bill Terry walks in front of the memorial for murder victims outside his church, St. Anna’s Episcopal Church on Esplanade Avenue, he says he knows more guns are not the answer.

“We started this in 2007 and it ended in 2012 because we ran out of room,” said Terry, as he pointed at the wall on Monday night. 

To Terry’s dismay -- a series of gun bills passed the house Friday. One -- House 334 -- would allow those who have a concealed carry permit to carry a concealed handgun into a church. 

“There is too much murder and violence and particularly gun violence that goes on right now without exacerbating that by arming our citizenry and encouraging that,” said Terry. 

Rep. Bryan Fontenot, a republican out of Thibodaux, sponsored the bill and says the leader of the church may still stop someone from carrying and says he wants to be clear on that. 

More here-

https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/politics/bill-requiring-churches-to-allow-guns-during-worship-passes-louisiana-house/289-284da0ce-9d93-4a46-bea1-c8218b949f3f

Springfield protest calls on Smith & Wesson to help prevent gun violence

From Western Massachusetts-

Numbering about 60, a coalition of youth groups and concerned citizens gathered at Memorial Field across Roosevelt Avenue from Smith & Wesson headquarters Friday afternoon to call on executives to work with them to address gun violence.

Joining the groups were two of the state’s Episcopal bishops and a co-founder of Bishops United Against Gun Violence.

Bishop Douglas Fisher of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts said he invited fellow bishops to join him to back up youth groups such as Campaign Nonviolence, the Pioneer Valley Project and B-Peace for Jorge as they demonstrated.

More here-

https://www.masslive.com/news/2019/09/springfield-protest-calls-on-smith-wesson-to-help-prevent-gun-violence.html

New gun laws now in effect in Texas include being allowed to carry a firearm in church

From Texas-

A series of new laws went into effect in Texas Sunday, some of which are making it easier for people to carry weapons.

In churches across Texas, guns can now be carried on the property unless the church puts up a notice sign warning firearms are prohibited. 

There is a mixed reaction to the new gun laws and whether carrying guns during a worship service will keep you safe.

“In this church? You probably are (safer),” said Larry Gilbert the Executive Pastor at Stonegate Fellowship Church in Midland, TX.

While Rector in St. David’s Episcopal Church in Austin Chuck Treadwell said “we don’t believe there’s any place for guns in church. It’s that simple.”

More here-

https://www.ktsm.com/news/new-gun-laws-now-in-effect-in-texas-include-being-allowed-to-carry-a-firearm-in-church/

Nuns who own shares of Smith & Wesson parent company call for corporate human rights policy

From Mass-

The Interfaith Center, which includes the Northwest Coalition for Responsible Investments the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary U.S.-Ontario and the Adrian Dominican Sisters, bought stock in American Outdoor Brands in order to have a voice as a shareholder in the company.

It’s a new technique activists are using to get their point across in corporate America. Episcopal Church groups, both the local Springfield-based diocese and the national organization, bought American Outdoor Brands stock for the same reason. The Episcopal Church must wait at least a year in order to put its own referendum on a shareholder ballot.

The Interfaith Center has also targeted Smith & Wesson competitor Sturm, Ruger & Co., opposing Board Chairman Michael Jacobi and director Sandra Froman after Ruger rejected any corporate responsibility for improving gun safety, refusing to even acknowledge the risks to long-term shareholder value.

Ruger has its headquarters in Southport, Connecticut.

More here-

https://www.masslive.com/news/2019/07/nuns-who-own-shares-of-smith-wesson-parent-company-call-for-corporate-human-rights-policy.html

Congregations Mull How to Keep Sacred Spaces Safe

From Erie-

While the Pittsburgh shooting was the latest and the closest to home for Erie-area congregations, many were already thinking about security before the 2018 massacre.

The Rev. John Downey, dean of Erie's Episcopal Cathedral of St. Paul, said his church hasn't made recent changes to security measures, some of which have been in place for about a decade. They include security cameras and a hired security person who watches the doors during Sunday services.

Downey said the cathedral has so far resisted putting up barriers to people by locking doors during the day, except if only one or two staff members are present.

"We're the kind of place that gets walk-ins," he said.

But he understands sites that have locked their doors.

At Almakarim Islamic Foundation, also in Erie, nothing was changed as a result of the Pittsburgh shooting.

More here-

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/pennsylvania/articles/2019-03-02/congregations-mull-how-to-keep-sacred-spaces-safe

Anglican Bishop: Get guns off the street

From Trinidad and Tobago-

There must be a con­cert­ed ef­fort to get il­le­gal firearms off the streets and some kind of com­mu­ni­ty pro­gramme must be im­ple­ment­ed to re­duce crim­i­nal vi­o­lence.

This was the ad­vice giv­en by An­gli­can Bish­op Claude Berkley on the heels of Tues­day’s “in­no­cent” shoot­ing and wound­ing of one of the rev­erends in the An­gli­can Church in T&T, Ger­ald Hen­drick­son.

Hen­drick­son, 54, was in­no­cent­ly shot and wound­ed dur­ing a gun chase by two men in Port-of-Spain on Tues­day at about 2 pm. Hen­drick­son is cur­rent­ly as­signed to the St Mar­garet of An­ti­och An­gli­can Church & St Jerome's Mis­sion in Bel­mont.

Berkley said, “One of the is­sues that we have to deal with is tack­ling the feel­ing that peo­ple can get away with the com­mis­sion of crimes or that they will not be caught. That kind of urge and feel­ing has led to a sense of brazen­ness and dis­re­spect for law and or­der and seek­ing to pro­mote some chaos on our streets and in our com­mu­ni­ties.” 

More here-

http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/anglican-bishop-get-guns-off-the-street-6.2.769997.582dcc1b64

Politics, Evangelicals, and Gun Violence

From South Carolina-

This week’s election news regarding the shift in control of the House of Representatives from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party was overshadowed by still more gun violence, first with a mass shooting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and second with a mass shooting in Thousand Oaks, California. Following a campus shooting here in South Carolina, the Rt. Rev. Andrew Waldo, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina, provided a “pastoral letter” about our out-of-control gun violence. Here is an extract from that letter:

“Through an Episcopal consortium known as Bishops United Against Gun Violence, I came into contact and have become friends with Pastor Rob Schenck, a conservative evangelical and former president of the Evangelical Church Alliance International. This group represents as many as 1,200 evangelical churches. In a documentary movie, The Armor of Light, produced and directed by Abigail Disney and available on Netflix, his spiritual and theological journey on the question of gun violence offers a challenge to all Christians. For me, his most jarring spiritual challenge in the documentary comes as he is addressing a conference of conservative evangelical pastors and leaders. In reference to spiritual authority, he says,

More here-

http://www.edgefieldadvertiser.com/2018/11/politics-evangelicals-and-gun-violence/

Security at sanctuary: Debate over carrying guns in church

From Houston-

Many churchgoers in the Houston area, where Harris County property records show there are nearly 3,000 buildings designated for religious use, are in agreement with Skeen. For others, the idea of guns in church isn’t a welcome one.

“It just feels inappropriate,” said Valerie Meisel, who attends Christ Church Cathedral, an Episcopal Church on Texas Avenue where a note printed in the church bulletin every Sunday states that carrying a concealed or openly visible firearm is prohibited on church property. “It’s totally contrary to what going to church is about.”


Regardless of where a congregation member might stand on firearms inside churches, whether or not they can actually bring a gun into a place of worship ultimately comes down to where they attend religious services.

While some churches in Houston like Christ Church Cathedral prohibit concealed and open carry via posted signs, a statement in the bulletin, or spoken notice from a church official, there are others like Pathways Church that don’t have an official policy. And when there isn’t written or verbal communication that states otherwise, anyone with a license to carry can bring a firearm — either concealed or openly visible — inside a place of worship by default.

More here-

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/sports/outdoors/article/Security-at-sanctuary-Debate-over-carrying-guns-12882164.php

Will churches need signs banning guns? STL clergy members speak out against concealed carry bill

From St. Louis-

Religious leaders across denominations spoke out in St. Louis on Wednesday against pending legislation that would allow concealed weapons in places of worship in Missouri without permission of the clergy.

“The bill would broaden Second Amendment rights at the expense of the First Amendment right of religious liberty,” said Most Rev. Robert Carlson, archbishop of St. Louis, who presides over some 500,000 Roman Catholics in the region.

Carlson was joined at a press conference by eight religious leaders representing the Jewish, Episcopalian, Methodist, Baptist and Evangelical Lutheran faiths, among others.

More here-

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/will-churches-need-signs-banning-guns-stl-clergy-members-speak/article_42245790-1e9d-5c82-817d-aed289751420.html

House of Bishops pledges advocacy to end gun violence, sexual violence

From ENS-

The Episcopal Church’s House of Bishops said March 7 its members will support two major social movements, one to end gun violence and the other to end sexual harassment, violence and gender bias.

The bishops said they “wholeheartedly support and join” young people who survived the deadly Feb. 14 school shooting in Parkland, Florida, in their call for an end to gun violence.

In the other statement, they said they knew the “church has fallen short of our responsibility to listen and respond” to “the reality of sexual harassment, gender-based violence, and the cultural stronghold of gender bias and inequity.” The bishops “invite the church to a deeper examination of what God intends for our relationships,” including at the July meeting of General Convention.

Both statements were “accepted” during their annual spring retreat, according to press releases issued by the church’s Office of Public Affairs. The bishops are gathered March 6-9 at Camp Allen, an Episcopal camp and conference center in Navasota, Texas.

More here-

https://www.episcopalnewsservice.org/2018/03/07/house-of-bishops-pledges-advocacy-to-end-gun-violence-sexual-violence/

Episcopal bishop: Stand with young people marching for safe schools

From Central NY-

Christians have a responsibility to stand with those who feel most vulnerable, especially when those persons are our children and youth.

I invite all the people of Central New York to join me at 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 20,  for a Facebook Live conversation on gun violence issues (at facebook.com/bishopdede), and then to prayerfully consider joining with me on Saturday, March 24, to walk in peaceful protest of gun violence and support the young people of our country. There are marches planned in several cities in the Diocese of Central New York - and around the country - that day.

I support responsible gun ownership. When I was growing up, guns were part of my life. I hunted with my brothers, regularly shot skeet (well, to be honest regularly shot at skeet) and even mastered the tricky art of launching skeet with a hand-held trebuchet. "Responsible gun ownership" was not a term I knew because everyone I knew handled guns responsibly.

More here-

http://www.syracuse.com/opinion/index.ssf/2018/03/episcopal_bishop_stand_with_young_people_marching_for_safe_schools_your_letters.html

Episcopal Church shareholder activism works to change gun sale practices

From ENS-

 The Episcopal Church’s Executive Council in late January authorized its Committee on Corporate and Social Responsibility to join an attempt to convince Dick’s Sporting Goods to abide by the Sandy Hook Principles developed to stem the tide of gun violence.

A little more than a month later, the Pittsburgh-based retailer announced Feb. 28 that it would stop selling assault weapons at its 35 Field & Stream stores.

The company had removed them from all Dick’s stores after the Sandy Hook massacre. The company also said it would no longer sell firearms to anyone younger than 21, and it would no longer sell high-capacity magazines. And, Dick’s said, it has never and will never sell bump stocks that allow semi-automatic weapons to fire more rapidly.

Dick’s also called on elected officials to ban assault-style firearms, high-capacity magazines and bump stocks; raise the legal minimum age to purchase firearms to 21; require universal background checks that include relevant mental health information and previous interactions with law enforcement; build what it called a “complete universal database of those banned from buying firearms; and close the private sale and gun show loophole that waives the necessity of background checks. All of the company’s actions and its message to government officials fit into the Sandy Hook Principles.

https://www.episcopalnewsservice.org/2018/02/28/episcopal-church-shareholder-activism-works-to-change-gun-sale-practices/

Gosford church’s Father Rod Bower speaks out on gun control billboard: 'Thoughts and prayers are not enough'

From MSN-

He’s the Australian priest who’s making headlines around the world for his gun control campaign, and Gosford Anglican Church’s Father Rod Bower has no intention of keeping quiet any time soon.

In fact, he’s expressing his anger at US gun control in the loudest way possible; with a giant billboard outside his church on the Central Coast.

After 17 were killed in a mass school shooting in Florida, Father Rod has been using his famous billboard - which made headlines during the same-sex marriage vote for messages such as “DEAR CHRISTIANS, SOME PPL ARE GAY. GET OVER IT. LOVE GOD.” - to spotlight the troubling state of affairs.

And despite his role at the church, he says this situation needs more than just prayers.

“I don’t know how many billboards I’ve put up now about these school shootings,” he exclusively told 9Honey. “And always sending our thoughts and prayers and that kind of thing - which is lovely - but it’s not enough.

More here-

https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/msn/gosford-church’s-father-rod-bower-speaks-out-on-gun-control-billboard-thoughts-and-prayers-are-not-enough/ar-BBJopJC

Harford sheriff, legislators want measure to let people carry guns in church

From Baltimore-

The Rev. Tommy Allen of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Abingdon attended the news conference and said he would make sure that anyone who carries a weapon in his church has an “extra layer of training,” including coordination with the sheriff’s office.

“The best way to check a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun, who is adequately trained to assess and address a potentially violent situation,” Allen said.

Mark Pennak, president of the gun-rights group Maryland Shall Issue, called the legislation “a great idea.”

Pennak said three people have approached him about whether the state would grant them a concealed-carry permit if their pastors asked the parishioners to protect the congregation. Pennak said he wasn’t sure state police would view a pastor’s request as a “good and substantial reason” to grant a concealed-carry permit, but that he encouraged them to apply under existing state law.

More here-

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-ha-guns-churches-20171212-story.html

Churchgoers renew calls to carry after Texas shooting

From The Washington Times-

Nathan Price says his concealed gun doesn’t make him feel safer in church.

The gun does make him feel more prepared should something happen.

“I’m a big believer that violence can happen anywhere at anytime,” said Price, a former Marine and firearms trainer. “If you’re not carrying a firearm, you’re not going to be able to engage anyone causing harm around you.”

The Wichita Eagle reports that Price is one of an unknown number of Kansans who carry a gun in church. After a man fatally shot 26 people in Sutherland Springs’ First Baptist Church earlier this month, some pastors and congregants across the nation have renewed calls to carry.

For some, carrying a gun in church is a way to prepare and protect in uncertain times. For others, it’s antithetical to the very purpose or church.

More here-

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/nov/24/churchgoers-renew-calls-to-carry-after-texas-shoot/

After mass shootings, should legal guns be welcomed into church?

From PBS-

The Nov. 5 shooting that left more than two dozen dead at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, has forced many churches across the country to grapple with how to boost security and keep congregants safe.

After the shooting, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Ellicott City, Maryland, decided to make a large banner with written prayers and words of support that will eventually be mailed to the people at the First Baptist Church.

The shooting in south Texas had brought up painful memories for the congregation. In 2012, a gunman opened fire in Saint Peter’s, killing the church’s co-rector, Mary Marguerite-Kohn, and its administrative assistant, Brenda Brewington. The gunman died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

More here-

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/after-mass-shootings-should-legal-guns-be-welcomed-into-church

After Texas church shooting, 70 Episcopal bishops say US must tackle relaxed gun laws

From Christian Today-

More than 70 Episcopal bishops working to curtail relaxed gun laws in the US have said that the nation must 'make amends' and called on elected representatives to be replaced if they are not up to protecting the people.

Bishops United Against Gun Violence released a statement yesterday condemning the gun attack on the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, which left at least 26 people dead and many more wounded, including children, on Sunday.

In their statement reported by the Church Times, Bishops United Against Gun Violence said: 'As a nation, we must acknowledge that we idolize violence, and we must make amends. Violence of all kinds denigrates humankind; it stands against the will of God and the way of Jesus the Christ.

'The shooting in Sutherland Springs brings the issue of domestic violence, a common thread in many mass killings, into sharp relief. It is not only essential that we keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers, but that we, as a society, reject ideologies of male dominance that permeate our culture and the history of our churches.
More here-

https://www.christiantoday.com/article/after-texas-church-shooting-70-episcopal-bishops-say-us-must-tackle-relaxed-gun-laws/117986.htm

Should more people bring guns to church? Local pastors weigh in

From Kansas-

"It's got no safety...and I keep it loaded."

Cliff Snell, pastor at Word of Life South Campus, shows the pistol he conceals on a daily basis. For him, carrying a gun is second nature.

"It's just been a part of my world since I was a kid."

His decision to carry in church came easily.

"I don't find anything in my new testament that tells me I can't own a gun, I don't find anything that tells me I can't have a gun, that I shouldn't posess them, and that I can't carry them in church." He says.

"When we post a sign that says "no guns permitted here", this is my opinion, and I understand that it's my opinion, but what we post is an open season sign."

Outside his church, you'll see no signs stopping others from carrying guns inside, and it's likely you'll see at least a few men in his congregation also carrying a firearm.

More here-

http://www.kwch.com/content/news/Should-more-people-bring-guns-to-churchc-Local-pastors-weigh-in-455690043.html

Those bells tolling in Portland echoed nationwide gesture against gun violence

From Oregon-

The bell inside the Cathedral Church of St. Luke on State Street rang out at noon Tuesday. A dozen people – most in their 60s or 70s or older – bowed their heads and clasped their hands in silence. Outside, walkers who breezed past noted the sound and looked up toward the church but didn’t stop.

The bell continued to ring for an uncomfortable length of time, each toll of the bell representing a victim of Sunday’s mass shooting in Las Vegas – the deadliest in modern U.S. history.

“It is discouraging,” said Bishop Stephen Lane. “There is a feeling that nothing can happen that would motivate us as a people to change. But we want to give hope. Things are dire, but they are not hopeless.”

More here-

http://www.pressherald.com/2017/10/03/st-lukes-to-ring-bells-hold-service-tuesday-in-memory-of-las-vegas-shooting-victims/

Oregon pastor destroys AR-15 won in raffle, repurposes parts

From New York Daily News-

An Oregon pastor who promised to destroy the AR-15 rifle he won at a girls softball team's raffle has dismantled the weapon, and is turning its remains into gardening tools.

Jeremy Lucas, an outspoken anti-gun advocate, purchased $3,000 worth of raffle tickets in July to ensure he'd win the prize. The softball team, made up of 14 to 18 year olds, hosted the raffle in order to pay for a trip.

"I wanted to win it so I could destroy it or turn it into something else and take it out of commission," Lucas told NBC affiliate KGW.

More here-

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/oregon-pastor-destroys-ar-15-won-raffle-repurpose-parts-article-1.2907070