In response to Sunday's deadly shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas, part of the national conversation has turned to church security. How can churches protect themselves from active shooters? Should parishioners be allowed to carry in church?
Church shootings are sadly not without precedent. In 1999 a man shot 14 people, killing seven, at a youth prayer rally at Wedgewood Baptist Church in Ft. Worth, before killing himself; in 2005 a man shot and killed four people at the Sash Assembly of God Church in Fannin, Texas. And just six weeks ago a gunman shot eight people, killing one, at the Burnette Chapel Church of Christ in Tennessee. More notoriously, in June 2015 Dylann Roof killed nine people at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina.
Even before Sunday's shooting, the Trump administration was working on efforts to train houses of worship on emergency security preparedness, including active shooter situations, Elizabeth Dias reports for Time. Jamie Johnson, the director of the Department of Homeland Security's Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships office told Time that "We are going to be a whole lot busier in the months and years to come when it comes to safety and security for houses of worship . . . This issue will now come to the forefront of the religious conversation in America." Johnson, previously a conservative talk show host, was appointed to the post by former Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly in April. Johnson has spoken at church conferences nationwide, and told Time in August that "We teach pastors and church executives to teach their members to be aware that not everyone who steps onto a church property has worship on their mind."
Anthony Williams, the police commander for the Dallas County Community College District, holds security seminars for churches in northern Texas. "He teaches de-escalation — knowing when it is best to run and hide, and when it is time to fight and defend. It all starts with preparedness," Jennifer Lindgren reports for CBS 11 News in Dallas-Fort Worth. "Williams looks at what churches can do — from the parking lot to the pulpit — to help keep the faith, but understand that these shootings are a real threat."
"What we try to do is, we try to prepare our churches to find that balance between faith, as well as reality," Williams told her.
Some churches are taking such warnings to heart. Robert Jeffress, the pastor of First Baptist Dallas who preached at President Trump's private church service at the Inauguration, told Dias that his church had worked with DHS to complete a safety assessment months ago. The 13,000 member church has paid uniformed and plainclothes security officers at every service, and parishioners are not allowed to carry backpacks. But they are allowed to carry guns.
"It would be unthinkable in a state like Texas not to allow it," Jeffress told Dias. “We think that is safer."
Church shootings are sadly not without precedent. In 1999 a man shot 14 people, killing seven, at a youth prayer rally at Wedgewood Baptist Church in Ft. Worth, before killing himself; in 2005 a man shot and killed four people at the Sash Assembly of God Church in Fannin, Texas. And just six weeks ago a gunman shot eight people, killing one, at the Burnette Chapel Church of Christ in Tennessee. More notoriously, in June 2015 Dylann Roof killed nine people at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina.
Even before Sunday's shooting, the Trump administration was working on efforts to train houses of worship on emergency security preparedness, including active shooter situations, Elizabeth Dias reports for Time. Jamie Johnson, the director of the Department of Homeland Security's Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships office told Time that "We are going to be a whole lot busier in the months and years to come when it comes to safety and security for houses of worship . . . This issue will now come to the forefront of the religious conversation in America." Johnson, previously a conservative talk show host, was appointed to the post by former Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly in April. Johnson has spoken at church conferences nationwide, and told Time in August that "We teach pastors and church executives to teach their members to be aware that not everyone who steps onto a church property has worship on their mind."
Anthony Williams, the police commander for the Dallas County Community College District, holds security seminars for churches in northern Texas. "He teaches de-escalation — knowing when it is best to run and hide, and when it is time to fight and defend. It all starts with preparedness," Jennifer Lindgren reports for CBS 11 News in Dallas-Fort Worth. "Williams looks at what churches can do — from the parking lot to the pulpit — to help keep the faith, but understand that these shootings are a real threat."
"What we try to do is, we try to prepare our churches to find that balance between faith, as well as reality," Williams told her.
Some churches are taking such warnings to heart. Robert Jeffress, the pastor of First Baptist Dallas who preached at President Trump's private church service at the Inauguration, told Dias that his church had worked with DHS to complete a safety assessment months ago. The 13,000 member church has paid uniformed and plainclothes security officers at every service, and parishioners are not allowed to carry backpacks. But they are allowed to carry guns.
"It would be unthinkable in a state like Texas not to allow it," Jeffress told Dias. “We think that is safer."
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