rockin'robin
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Some Pastors Speak Out Against New Legislation
BATON ROUGE, La. -- A new Louisiana law allows churchgoers to carry more than just their Bibles on Sunday.
The law, recently signed by Gov. Bobby Jindal, allows parishioners with concealed weapons permits to pack heat during worship services. And it's not sitting well with some pastors.
The Rev. Chris Andrews, pastor at First United Methodist Church in Baton Rouge, wants members of his congregation to bring their Bibles, their friends and family and even their casserole dishes to church.
But he'd prefer they "leave the weapons of destruction someplace else."
The bill's author said the legislation was written with recent history in mind.
"Every key point that I moved this through the Legislature in Louisiana or the Arklatex area, there was a gun-related incident the day before I went before," said Rep. Henry Burns, a Republican. "Now, I never brought that up, but it just reiterated to me we live in different times."
Burns said the law allows pastors to employ specially trained members of their congregation to act as a de facto church security force.
"I can see what the representative is trying to accomplish," Andrews said of the new law. "I simply think his whole strategy is misinformed and wrong."
Casey Hicks, spokeswoman for the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office, said the potential additional guns won't cause a problem for law enforcement.
"You don't ever assume that any situation is a safe situation, and so our deputies are always trained and prepared to respond to high-risk situations and always looking out for someone with a weapon," she said. "So, either way, our deputies will be prepared to respond."
Guns Now Allowed In La. Churches - Jacksonville News Story - WJXT Jacksonville
BATON ROUGE, La. -- A new Louisiana law allows churchgoers to carry more than just their Bibles on Sunday.
The law, recently signed by Gov. Bobby Jindal, allows parishioners with concealed weapons permits to pack heat during worship services. And it's not sitting well with some pastors.
The Rev. Chris Andrews, pastor at First United Methodist Church in Baton Rouge, wants members of his congregation to bring their Bibles, their friends and family and even their casserole dishes to church.
But he'd prefer they "leave the weapons of destruction someplace else."
The bill's author said the legislation was written with recent history in mind.
"Every key point that I moved this through the Legislature in Louisiana or the Arklatex area, there was a gun-related incident the day before I went before," said Rep. Henry Burns, a Republican. "Now, I never brought that up, but it just reiterated to me we live in different times."
Burns said the law allows pastors to employ specially trained members of their congregation to act as a de facto church security force.
"I can see what the representative is trying to accomplish," Andrews said of the new law. "I simply think his whole strategy is misinformed and wrong."
Casey Hicks, spokeswoman for the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office, said the potential additional guns won't cause a problem for law enforcement.
"You don't ever assume that any situation is a safe situation, and so our deputies are always trained and prepared to respond to high-risk situations and always looking out for someone with a weapon," she said. "So, either way, our deputies will be prepared to respond."
Guns Now Allowed In La. Churches - Jacksonville News Story - WJXT Jacksonville
