“Police say the attacker walked into First Baptist Church of Maryville, Illinois, on Sunday and began firing. ‘A church is not helpless when they have a plan, and properly trained security,”‘ said Jeff Hawkins, the executive director of the Christian Security Network.”…….
This story is horribly tragic. And my heart goes out to the victims, their families and community.
However….I have a “security plan” for you. It’s called the Second Amendment. It’s called Open Carry. Random shootings like this only occur in “gun-free zones” (which we call “victim disarmament zones.”) They generally do not occur on military bases and in police stations.
I say let every honest man be armed. As they say “an armed society is a polite society.”
Violent crime is significantly lower in all open-carry states, and has consistently gone down in all states that loosened restrictions on “granting” concealed carry permits. CNN and other media never report this. Crime going down doesn’t keep eyes glued to screens. Panic does, so CNN and other major media continue to support an agenda of citizen disarmament. Yet guns are used for defense 3 to 5 times more often than they are used in crimes.
When was the last time you saw a news report about a little old lady fending off attackers with her pistol? It happens all the time, and I think that would make great news, even by “normal news standards”, but it’s almost never reported.
I’m moving to Wyoming. It’s got one of the lowest crime rates in America, partially because people can still practice their inherent right to self-defense there, and openly carry a gun.
Self-defense is not barbaric, and is not un-Christian.
From A User’s Manual for the Human Experience:
Self-defense is not harming others. It is protecting yourself from being harmed. It is refusing to accept initiations of force. Jesus said, “turn the other cheek”, but he also instructed his disciples to carry swords for protection when they traveled out to testify:
“And he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one.”
–Luke 22:36-38
These swords were not metaphorical; they were literal weapons, to protect against wild beasts, both of the four-legged, and two-legged, variety.
Jesus even extended this to protecting others:
“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”
–John 15:14
I don’t need to pay anyone to add “security” to my church, and I’d prefer capable citizens do it ourselves. I believe much of America has become a “nation of cowards” who are afraid to protect themselves and shirk responsibility in order to let “someone else do it.”
Respectfully,
Michael W. Dean
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(p.s., just sent this post to Jeff Hawkins, executive director of the Christian Security Network, and to CNN.)
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