Saw this headline on the BBC News website:
US pastor opens church to guns
Now, I’m not anti-gun, per se, since I have in the past participated in the shooting sports (using small calibre target pistols owned by the club I was a member of; I don’t own any kind of firearms myself), but as far as I’m concerned, handguns belong only on shooting ranges (or safely transported in a locked case back to where they are kept in locked storage when not at the range). In a public space like a church, though? Nope, they don’t belong there — unloaded or not.
The BBC News article says:
“Pastor Ken Pagano told parishioners to bring their unloaded guns to New Bethel Church in Louisville for a service celebrating the right to bear arms.”
Apparently he did this in “an effort to promote safe gun ownership.” The article goes on to quote a parishioner, Doreen Rogers, as saying to the Louisville Courier-Journal:
“For some reason, most people think that carrying guns is sinful. It’s not. I think my life is worth protecting.”
From that, I would conclude that Doreen’s gun was very likely not unloaded…
Fortunately, there seem to be more sensible folk in the area, as the BBC News article goes on to note:
A coalition of religious groups and campaigners held a rival gun-free event at the same time on the other side of Louisville.
“The idea of wearing guns to churches or any sacred space I think many people find deeply troubling,” organiser Terry Taylor told AP.
Amen.
