Places of worship

[RangerTim]

As those with an Ohio CCW permit are aware, the "Forbidden Carry Zones" of Ohio include "Places of worship, unless permitted otherwise". I read that as, you better have it in writing that you are authorized to carry in your church, temple, synogauge, mosque, etc. Don't want to be left out to dry trying to cite someone's verbal "OK". The persecution of Christians, especially Catholics, is nothing new through the middle east. My interpreter in Iraq was an Iraqi born Catholic that had is family killed and church reduced to rubble by a car bomb. Sadly, I believe the attack in Normandy where two ISIS supporters killed an 84 year old priest during mass is only the beginning of a targeted focus on Christians/Catholics in western civilized countries.


That said, I still find it stunning how many religious organization still will not authorize carry in church. I know in my area the archdiocese will not allow local priests to give that authorization to parishioners. I continue to push this issue and urge anyone in agreement to write a letter to your Bishop or Archbishop urging them to change this policy.


To those reading this that are not Catholic, I would be very interested in knowing how supporting your religious institution is of carrying concealed during their services and if it took any convincing. Hopefully if we can get some idea sharing here we can reduce one more place where we are wide open to an attack.


That's assuming EVERYONE is following the law and not carrying anyway of course.....

 

[~ZENAS~]

It all depends on your particular church's polity. With most "christian" denominations, there is a particular way business is conducted and I would make sure to follow that (moreso than just a letter from the preacher, unless of course, that's where the authority lies). I know in my church, we are democratic in nature. Authority lies in the membership, so we made sure to conduct concealed carry authorization by an act of business. This works well because I don't have to get it in writing. It is permanently in writing in the minutes of the church's business. But since every church, religion, etc... is different, I just advise people to use the typical chain of authority within your religious organization to make sure you receive proper authorization.


The statute also says a church can post a sign permitting carry. For those churches who choose to allow anyone to lawfully carry on their premises, that is one clear way to grant permission.

 

[RangerTim]

Thanks for the input T.L. While we do have a parish council, they aren't ones to go against the archdiocese with much force. Just like workplace carry, it's a continuous battle. All we can do is try.

 

[~ZENAS~]

Yeah, from my experience, Catholicism can be tricky. There was a group doing a charity gun raffle and it was being held at a Catholic church/school. The waters got pretty muddy when the local priest/council approved the event but the regional authority came in and shut it down.


All I can say for church carry is make sure it's clear and you follow the proper channels of authority where someone higher up the ladder can't come in and say they didn't give permission. Thankfully I'm Baptist and all authority lies in the local church, so those at my church can be confident the buck stops with the permission they have.

 

[MyWifeSaidYes]

One of the biggest hurdles for pro-gun bills at the Statehouse are the anti-gun religious groups. They appear to wield even more influence than the anti-gun police unions.