No Guns in Church Please

Thursday's ruling by the Supreme Court regarding Washington D.C.'s strict gun laws, reminded me of a picture I had yet to download from my digital camera. In May, I was at a preaching conference in Minneapolis and I was struck by the signs that were posted at the entrances to the churches we were meeting in. The signs stated that handguns were not permitted on church property, which I thought was strange since I would assume that people would not bring guns to church.

Well it turns out that after a quick Google search I discovered the reason these churches did so is because changes in Minnesota gun laws in recent years allowed anyone with a permit to carry a gun in a public place. Several churches sued arguing that for the state to declare that it was alright for someone to carry a gun to church conflicted with their religious rights--imagine that--a church actually understanding Christianity to mean that a person shouldn't carry around a firearm??? The result of the lawsuit was that churches could forbid guns from their properties and could post signs saying so.

I don't know what the result of this week's case will be for gun laws or gun violence in America, but I would like to urge all visitors to First Christian Church of St. Joseph, MO to please leave their guns at home.

Grace and Peace,

Chase