Lessons from 'bring your guns to church day'

July 15, 10:12 PMDenver Gun Rights ExaminerDan Bidstrup

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Lloyd Garver writes for the Huffington Post, and commented on the Louisville, Kentucky church that had a "Bring your gun to church" Sunday on June 27th to celebrate Independence Day and the Second Amendment.  In his column of July 2nd, he raised some interesting objections that I wanted to answer. Pastor Pagano had told him many pictures from ancient, medieval, and our own revolutionary time show people attending church while obviously armed.  He responded  "I reminded him that there were many things that were done hundreds of years ago that aren't done today -- like sacrificing goats, having slaves, and avoiding baths."  I would add that many, many more things done for hundreds of years endure such as communal worship, providing for our families and protecting our herds and flocks. Today's banditry might not be from Visigoths, but modern gangs can kill you just as dead, and for many of the same reasons that motivated violence of old.

     The pastor said he wasn't sure how many guns were in the congregation that day because some of the people had concealed carry permits and not only had concealed guns, but they were loaded.  That was fine with him.  Mr. Garver wondered how one could feel calm and at peace not knowing how many guns there might be in the audience.  I think this gets to a deep point of departure between those of us for whom guns are a sensible tool to carry to defend ourselves in a life-threatening situation and those who feel that a gun is a huge, death-dealing monster if it is in the same room with them.  He doesn't know who in the congregation really dislikes him either.  He doesn't know how many could efficiently kill him with their bare hands.  Dwelling on "what ifs" can make you crazy.  That is why most of us go about life expecting the normal, while being prepared mentally and materially for the unexpected.  Nobody at church that day attacked anybody, and that might be the greatest thing to come out of the event. 

Regular folks can and do carry guns against the day that an unthinkable act might be thrust upon them, not so that they can instigate such an act.

Mr. Garver then asked if it was appropriate to be celebrating the second amendment in church, what with the separation of church and state. The founding fathers didn't want to create another Church of England, and decreed that there would be no state religion at the very top of the first amendment.  The idea wasn't that there was any wall between religion and civil discourse, but rather that the government couldn't tell you what church to attend. We don't check our morals and beliefs at the door when we enter government service, and we don't stop being citizens at the church door. I think it was right and proper to celebrate our nation's independence at church ( We did at mine.) since our constitution created this great country and allows us freedom of worship.

Picking up another thread, Mr. Garver said "Here's another thought: How would people have reacted if an Imam at an American mosque asked people to bring guns to a service? In fact, how would those same people who went to Pagano's church have reacted?"  He predicts there would be a huge reaction against that.  I believe this reveals another deep difference between the left and the right.  Most of us believe we are responsible for our actions, and can only judge others by their actions.  Law abiding Muslim congregations have the same rights as any other Americans. 

Liberal inspired hate crimes legislation seeks to get inside the head of criminals and try to see if they whacked the guy for his money or because he was a homosexual, then took the money.  I have yet to hear of a case where a criminal is convicted and sentenced, then on appeal his sentence is reduced because it is proven he didn't know the victim was a homosexual;  it was just a murder for money, so take three years off the sentence.  Laws can only control our actions, not our thoughts.  So I don't think the folks at New Bethel Church would bat an eye at a similar event being held in a U.S. mosque. If it is legal for open carry of weapons where the mosque is, more power to them.  Nobody is suggesting anything illegal in either church. Apparently Mr. Garver doesn't believe in equal treatment under the law for all Americans.

Finally, he recalls his own past: "I had my Bar Mitzvah in a temple in Chicago which, coincidentally, was also called Beth El. Perhaps it's a geographic or a cultural thing, but I can't imagine anyone bringing guns to a service at the Beth El I went to. Maybe some people might sneak in half a sandwich, maybe someone would carry in a picture of that good-looking guy their daughter's engaged to, but a gun? No way."  Of course not!  It is currently illegal in Chicago to have a gun, transport a gun or carry a gun.  The folks at his temple are also law abiding citizens.  He seems to forget that overwhelmingly, the gun-owning public in America are law abiding people. Plato said "Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws.” Character is at the heart of the matter, not laws.