There is a
trend towards violence in places of worship. That’s not big news. Prior to 1963
there was never a mass murder associated with a faith-based property in this
country. Since then, Carl Chinn, a church security expert, says 617 people have
been killed by deadly force at religious centers.
Against that backdrop, I’m sounding the alarm
about legislation currently in the Illinois House. House Bill 3023 amends the
Firearm Concealment Act to make it illegal to have concealed carry guns in a
place of worship. Our state rep, Darren Bailey, says given the current state of
the legislature, it could advance. The bill is currently tabled in the House
Judiciary Criminal Committee.
This
legislation was introduced by Yehiel Kalish, who was appointed to the House in
January. Kalish is an ordained Orthodox rabbi. I believe it might be his first
sponsored bill.
This simply
won’t fly. Every church needs to have a plan to protect worshippers. Quietly, I
would bet the vast majority of the area’s churches have such a plan which
includes conceal carry weapons.
In the
Bible, followers of Christ are referred to as sheep. Truly, if this bill
becomes law and makes it illegal for churches to have a security plan which
includes conceal carry guns--we will be sheep…..fresh for slaughter.
If it
becomes illegal for churches to have concealed guns, heaven help us.
Every
church could potentially become a killing zone.
You could still open carry in a church, so it's not like they actually become killing zones. It's rather sensationalist of you to suggest that. I think there's also some serious reflection necessary on the inclusion of weapons in a place of peace. But as much as I loathe violence, I'm for a robust 2nd Amendment. Time and again we've seen that these mass shootings will happen, regardless of whether a shooter could legally possess the firearms in question in the place where the shooting takes place. I'm not a "good guy with a gun" sort of person, as I feel like having less guns overall actually would be safer, but the country we live in currently is flooded with guns. It's better to have some sort of protection.
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