something to consider when carrying in church...
MANY churches these days have VERY proactive security plans in place that include armed, plain clothese personnel (off duty police that are members of the congregation and/or hired security/off duty cops) sprinkled throughout the facility.
Acts of violence against religious groups and churches have risen sharply over the past decade.. In response numerous churches have gotten much more serious about protecting their pastors, their congregations, and their facilities..
If you choose to go armed in church.. it probably behooves you to find out as much as you can about the churches security program (as much as they are willing to tell you about), or even consider become part of their security program..
If you choose not to let anyone know you are carrying.. I would make absolutely certain that no one EVER sees your weapon.. or it is possible YOU might be seen as a threat and have an encounter you otherwise didnt prepare for..
If an attack goes down in church.. I would recommend being VERY careful about your response.. again.. if you dont know the churches response plan, or their security profile, if your weapon comes out it is very possible that YOU are going to be percieved as part of the threat, not part of the solution.. and will be engaged by the "good guys"..
compare this to being a parent picking up a child at school when an "active shooter" situation goes down.. you pull out your weapon and rush inside to save your kid... 5 minutes later the first law enforcement officers show up, enter the building, and the first person they see with a gun is YOU.. what do you think their immediate response is going to be?
Not saying you dont go in and try to save lives..
I am saying you need to understand things beyond "Im going to defend myself and my family/friends/whoever" in an active shooter situation..
Even if the security team in the church knows you (small congregation, you are a regular, etc..) if they dont know you are armed, and dont know your intention when a moment of stress goes down.. the end result could not only be detremental to you, but you could actually slow down or totally inhibit their ability to respond to the actual threat..
again... not saying to go unarmed to church.. I ADVOCATE you being armed if your state law and your church allow it..
what I am saying, as someone that has trained the protective services detail at one of the largest southern baptist churches in the country, and as someone that helped design the security program for one of the largest presbyterian churches in the south east.. that the typical convienience store or street corner response to a deadly force threat is likely a very bad idea in a church where it is PROBABLE these days that there is a response plan in place, and people in the building already that are dedicated to stoping/eliminating threats as they present themselves..
dont find yourself accidently percieved as part of the threat..
