Louisiana House Passes Bill Allowing Guns In Churches

Automatic weapons at a Las Vegas gun range
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The Louisiana House passed a bill yesterday that will enable places of worship to allow congregants with permits to carry concealed guns, purportedly so they can protect their fellow churchgoers in case of a shooting or other violent act.

State Rep. Henry Burns (R), who introduced the bill, told TPM that it gives “a gift of intervention” to churchgoers, and that “we do live in different times” where even a church is “really no safe haven.”

House Bill 68 allows churches, mosques, and synagogues to choose to establish a “security plan” for their constituents, permitting members of the congregation with concealed weapons permits to carry guns during services.

The bill passed the House 74-18 last night, thanks to several amendments that were added since the failed first vote. One of the amendments requires those who are part of the security plan to go through eight hours of tactical training, provided by local law enforcement. The other amendments require that the congregation be notified that the security force exists, and prohibits any guns from being used in places of worship on college campuses.

The bill will now head to the state Senate.

Burns told TPM that the passage by the House has left him feeling “very hopeful,” and he’s happy with the additional amendments.

“I’m pleased that in those unique situations where maybe a church can’t afford law enforcement,” they can still be protected, he said. Burns emphasized that the security force is “not mandated” and “in fact you actually have to opt in.”

When asked what prompted the bill’s introduction, Burns said he’s heard about several incidents over the past few years when violence had occurred in churches, including one in Baton Rouge in 1999.

“It’s so stigmatized,” Burns said of the bill. But despite the negative portrayals by “media types,” it makes sense “for the good shepherd or the minister to protect his flock,” and this bill is “a gift of intervention that’s provided to ensure their safety.”

He also noted when he’s brought up the bill to constituents, “it’s rebuked and rejected,” but there’s a “momentum of change” and people eventually “respond to the fact that’s there’s really no safe haven.” Though he also confessed that many people say they didn’t know it was against the law to carry weapons into church in the first place.

Burns said that bars, churches, schools and courthouses were some of the only places left in Louisiana where guns were prohibited. Some other states have enacted legislation to allow guns in bars, but for his part, Burns says, “I have no desire to try to put guns in bars and college campuses.”

“I think this will probably be the end of my gun dealing,” he joked.

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