| Getbig Misc Discussion Boards > Religious Debates & Threads |
| Texans May Legally Bring Guns to Church, Says Attorney General |
| (1/3) > >> |
| Dos Equis:
Sad that it has come to this. Texans May Legally Bring Guns to Church, Says Attorney General by BREITBART TEXAS 22 Dec 2017 Texans licensed to carry firearms may bring their weapons to religious services if specific conditions are met, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton noted Thursday. The official opinion also exempts religious institutions from state fees levied on private organizations which maintain security forces. General Paxton told Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick (R) in an advisory opinion that a licensed worshiper may carry their firearm onto a religious entity’s property if the institution does not provide proper notice to attendees that such items are forbidden. Unless the requirements under Sections 30.06 and 30.07 of the Penal Code are met, Texans may lawfully carry concealed or visible weapons, respectively, Paxton explains. If a body of worship utilizes a building in a rental capacity, attendees are bound by the property owner’s existing notice. “To the extent a church operates on property other than its own, it should consult with the owner of the property to determine the extent to which it may prohibit or allow the carrying of handguns,” Paxton writes. Separately, General Paxton agreed that churches and other religious institutions are no longer subject to licensing fees, should they wish to utilize a volunteer security force on their grounds. On September 1, 2017, Senate Bill 2065 went into effect, exempting the $400 initial fee for such arrangements and any annual renewal expenses owed to the State, reportedly running $225 thereafter. The advisory opinion notes that in order to qualify for the fee exemption, unpaid volunteers may not wear uniforms, badges, or insignia that would create the appearance they are “peace officers” or other authorities. Both Paxton and Patrick acknowledged the weight of the matters in their writings by making references to the tragic shooting on November 5, 2017. Breitbart Texas reported at the time that Devin Patrick Kelley entered the Sutherland Springs First Baptist Church armed with a Ruger AR-15 and began to shoot worshipers at close range. Kelley would eventually kill 26 and leave dozens injured, including young children. Kelley was forced from the church grounds when a barefoot neighbor, Stephen Willeford, fired intervening shots and later engaged in a car chase with the help of an unfamiliar passing motorist. The former National Rifle Association trainer reportedly witnessed Kelley’s vehicle swerve off the road after the church shooter turned his remaining weapon on himself. Given the new law and traumatizing events in Sutherland Springs, Patrick asked on December 1 that his requests for clarity be expedited “so that churches may know what legal options they have to improve their security.” http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2017/12/22/texans-may-legally-bring-guns-church-says-attorney-general/ |
| Agnostic007:
Seems to me, if there is a universal God that exists and watches over his creation, answering prayers, healing the sick on occasion, getting people the job promotion they prayed for and finding their soul mate to marry, needing a gun to attend a service to worship this god is counterproductive. First, you apparently don't believe he will protect you while you are minding your own business and attending church and second, you probably really don't believe in death you'll actually go to heaven, or why would you be fighting so hard to avoid it? If you were a Christian attending church and you got killed, you would have so many riches in heaven you could choke a horse with it. Something doesn't add up :) |
| Man of Steel:
--- Quote from: Agnostic007 on January 03, 2018, 11:22:31 PM ---Seems to me, if there is a universal God that exists and watches over his creation, answering prayers, healing the sick on occasion, getting people the job promotion they prayed for and finding their soul mate to marry, needing a gun to attend a service to worship this god is counterproductive. First, you apparently don't believe he will protect you while you are minding your own business and attending church and second, you probably really don't believe in death you'll actually go to heaven, or why would you be fighting so hard to avoid it? If you were a Christian attending church and you got killed, you would have so many riches in heaven you could choke a horse with it. Something doesn't add up :) --- End quote --- It does seem counterproductive and counterintuitive for a body of believers to bring a gun into a place of worship for an all-loving, all-knowing, all-yes prayer answering, all-protecting, all evil preventing God. The problem with that conclusion is that isn't what God promises and that isn't who God is. He is indescribably loving, but not all-loving. He does answer prayers, but not every answer is a yes to a prayer request. He isn't a God that protects and shields us from all the evil of mankind all the time. Believers are actually promised a rather difficult life in service of God and that includes enduring the evil of men. Christ came to deliver people from their evil and into repentance. Those folks that choose to align their will with God's will and turn from sin and evil. Simply put, it's unfortunate guns are needed as protection in a place like a church, but the increase in the effects of global sin only increases....it only reverses or stops for those saved through Christ. And believers are commanded to protect those in need and provide for their needs. Also, remember how the nation of Israel was used by God in the OT. They were an instrument of his righteousness used to bring an end to the horrific traditions of the surrounding pagan nations in the ancient near east. |
| Las Vegas:
--- Quote from: Agnostic007 on January 03, 2018, 11:22:31 PM ---Seems to me, if there is a universal God that exists and watches over his creation, answering prayers, healing the sick on occasion, getting people the job promotion they prayed for and finding their soul mate to marry, needing a gun to attend a service to worship this god is counterproductive. First, you apparently don't believe he will protect you while you are minding your own business and attending church and second, you probably really don't believe in death you'll actually go to heaven, or why would you be fighting so hard to avoid it? If you were a Christian attending church and you got killed, you would have so many riches in heaven you could choke a horse with it. Something doesn't add up :) --- End quote --- What's to say it isn't exactly that, though? A person who'd look to catch sitting ducks, for one thing, might find the wisdom to think again before entering a church in Texas with a plan to kill. |
| Dos Equis:
--- Quote from: Agnostic007 on January 03, 2018, 11:22:31 PM ---Seems to me, if there is a universal God that exists and watches over his creation, answering prayers, healing the sick on occasion, getting people the job promotion they prayed for and finding their soul mate to marry, needing a gun to attend a service to worship this god is counterproductive. First, you apparently don't believe he will protect you while you are minding your own business and attending church and second, you probably really don't believe in death you'll actually go to heaven, or why would you be fighting so hard to avoid it? If you were a Christian attending church and you got killed, you would have so many riches in heaven you could choke a horse with it. Something doesn't add up :) --- End quote --- Or you believe that people always have the power of choice, including the power to choose to do bad things. |
| Navigation |
| Message Index |
| Next page |