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Christian
case for gun rights
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My Gun Goes to Church
Posted
On August 31, 2017
I live in Las
Vegas and am a member of a very large protestant congregation. I enjoy going to
church and listening to our learned and dynamic pastor
deliver the messages of our Christian faith.
Yet, I also
carry my handgun with me when I go to church on Sundays. It’s not that I don’t
trust my fellow church members. Actually, the truth is I trust them
completely. They are a wonderful group of people. The problem is Las Vegas has
been rumored to be, as well as discussed, as a target for terrorists. The
Christian faith in and unto itself is also a target for certain religious
zealots. Our faith makes us infidels and targets in the eyes of these
terrorists. As I have said, our church is here in Las Vegas, which is a
possible target city. The church has a large congregation. A few hundred people
listening to the gospel or participating in communion, makes any church not
only mine, a target rich environment.
I have almost
25 years in law enforcement. As a result, I have been trained to be prepared
for emergencies and to watch for them before they occur. I once read the wise
words of a firearms instructor given to a new police officer who
inquired about carrying a firearm when off duty. The instructor informed
him, “You can either carry your firearm always, or don’t carry your firearm at
all, but don’t carry it sometimes.” Add a bit of Murphy’s Law to this logic,
and it will prove the time you don’t carry the handgun will be the time you
need it.
Now some
people may say a church is no place to bring a firearm. My feeling is God has
blessed me with skills to know how to use a firearm. I don’t display my gun. I
don’t brag about carrying it. Only my wife knows I’m carrying. I just keep it
concealed and listen to the sermon.
I hope and
pray our church and the members of the congregation are never targets of
terrorists, but if they are, I want to be prepared to deal with the threat to
my fellow church members, my wife and myself. So, when I go to church on
Sundays, my wife and I are accompanied by Smith and Wesson.
Keith
Bettinger is a retired Suffolk County, NY police officer, and has a Masters
Degree in Human Relations with a major in Clinical Counseling. His thesis was A
Practicum Experience in Post Shooting Trauma Counseling. He developed a peer
support program for officers involved in shooting incidents.
Keith is
a writer of short stories and articles – both fiction and nonfiction. He is
also the author of three books and has contributed stories to five different
anthologies. He has received 19 awards for his writing.
During
his time with the department, he served in many different capacities in both
uniform and plainclothes assignments. He received numerous awards during his
police career. He started writing for law enforcement publications during his
police career. After his retirement, for a period of time, he taught criminal
justice classes at his alma mater, New York Institute of Technology.
INTERNET SOURCE: https://www.lawenforcementtoday.com/gun-goes-church/
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