Guns, Church, and State

IN THE GREAT STATE of arkansas, U.S.A., it is illegal to carry a concealed firearm into a church. Whether 'tis legal to carry one in church openly for all to see is unknown at this point.There is currently a movement in arkansas to repeal the church firearm ban.

 Arkansas, of course, was one of the earlier states to legalize the concelaed carrying of firearms, in the midst of what has become quite a revival of gun love sweeping across america. In every realationship, it seems, it is healthy to reaffirm old commitments.

It was probably illegal to carry guns into church when it was illegal to do so everywhere else in arkansas, then, when conceal and carry came along, maybe the churches remained off limits, like the schools.

Do the churches in arkansas, both leadership and membership, prefer that the state ban weapons within houses of worship, or would they prefer that the state leave the choice to the church? The best guess is, many church leaders and members prefer firearms remain outside church doors, but also prefer that they, the church, and not the state, have the power to decide the issue for themselves.

What is the  official NRA (national rifle association, america's gun club) position about firearms in church? How do its members, largely christian, feel? What would jesus say about it??  Jesus might say that it really doesn't matter what the state says about guns in church, he, and the Lord both are against it. But, who knows...

The NRA claims that gun violence, and gun ownership, are not diseases. That's debatable. It depends on the attitude of guns owners and the frequency of gun violence. There's a thin line between health and disease. "Over my dead body,out of my warm hand" seems a bit, well, diseased, mentally.

The NRA further claims that gun control leads to gun confiscation, as happened in england and australia. Although any warnings against potential tyranny are worthwhile, it must be duly noted that, other than gun control, the governments in both great britain and the commonwealth of australia have shown no signs of any further blatant tyranny, at least, not yet. So what if the entire city of london is on suveillance camera twenty four seven? What's a little screen time among friends?

The father of one of america's many recently murdered children summed it all up very nicely: "he lived teh american dream, and he died the american nightmare." Amen to the truth, brother. Before we can change it, we must first acknowledge it.