Pastors are getting nervous over the implementation of a Virginia legal opinion that would allow congregation members with permits to carry firearms into churches. The Associated Baptist Press said in an article this past weekend that the Virginia attorney general, Ken Cuccinelli, considers “personal protection” a valid reason to carry a weapon into a worship service: Virginia law requires a “good and sufficient” reason to do so. But Virginia pastors are saying the announcement scares them a little. Don Davidson, a pastor in Alexandria, said “a congregation that’s packing” would make any pastor nervous and wondered if the opinion included church business meetings. “We have lots of FBI, CIA, and Secret Service people in our church, and I always assume that at least a few of them are armed, and that’s OK…too many other gun-handlers and innocent people could get caught in the crossfire,” said Davidson.
Chuck Warnock, pastor of Chatham Baptist Church, said he was “very much opposed to to anyone in the congregation bringing weapons to worship…the argument that we are defending against a terrorist attack is ridiculous because of the nature of the terrorist attacks we’ve seen in the past…theologically, I think to allow or encourage worshippers to bring guns to worship the Prince of Peace is a contradiction that we should not be comfortable with.”
Kentucky pastor Ken Pagano told The New York Times in 2009 that he encourages his church to bring their guns to worship. “I don’t see any contradiction in this. Not every Christian denomination is pacifist,” he remarked. He even sponsored an Open Carry Celebration event in his church where he invited congregants to wear their guns into the sanctuary to “celebrate our rights as Americans.”
The Virginia legal advisory would allow churches to ban weapons from their premises, but they would have to post signs and police the congregation to enforce the ban. Twenty states currently allow weapons in churches; four states (Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Arkansas) do not allow congregants to carry firearms. Other states do not have current legislation surrounding these issues.
As a church leader, does a congregation that’s “packing” make you feel more secure or more nervous? We welcome your thoughts below.
