US archbishop restricts who can bring guns to church

Friday, May 2nd, 2014

An American archbishop will ban the presence of all guns in Catholic institutions in his archdiocese, except those carried by authorised officers.

Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta did this in response to a new Georgia law that will allow licensed gun owners to carry arms into schools, churches and other places.

“Before this legislation takes effect in July, I will officially restrict the presence of weapons in our Catholic institutions except for those carried by the people that civic authorities have designated and trained to protect and guard us – and those who are duly authorised law and military officials,” Archbishop Gregory said.

Critics have dubbed the legislation the “guns everywhere bill”.

Georgia’s Catholic bishops and more than 200 other faith groups in the state opposed the new law.

“The last thing we need is more firearms in public places, especially in those places frequented by children and the vulnerable,” Archbishop Gregory said.

Previously in Georgia, licensed gun holders were not permitted to carry a firearm into a house of worship.

The new law continues to prohibit weapons in houses of worship “unless the governing body or authority of the place of worship permits the carrying of weapons or long guns by license holders”.

However, the law diminishes the penalty for carrying weapons in a house of worship to a US$100 fine with no arrest permitted for a licensed gun holder.

A person carrying a weapon without a licence would only face a minor charge.

Georgia Governor Nathan Deal signed the Safe Carry Protection Act on April 23, saying it strengthened the rights of gun ownership as outlined in the United States Constitution.

Archbishop Gregory said that rare occasions of past violence in churches are not sufficient justification to allow people to bring more weapons in God’s house.

The archbishop said he did not mean to suggest restricting firearms in “places where they are needed to protect one’s home and property or to defend the public by officials who are entrusted with our protection”.

“Yet this new legislation de facto makes firearms more available in places where they may allow violence to escalate,” he added.

Sources