Local

Atlanta’s Episcopal Bishop, Responding to New State Law, Bans Guns in Parish Churches

WABE

May 1st, 2014

Georgia’s new gun law, HB 60, allows permit holders to carry concealed weapons into a church—but only if the church specifically allows it. Some local religious leaders who oppose the law, however, are taking no chances.

Atlanta Episcopal Bishop Robert Wright has issued a policy, banning guns in churches in his diocese—which covers north and central Georgia—with an exception for on-duty law officers.

Bishop Wright told WABE the policy is a response to what he said is the culture that inspired the new law.

“The culture is moving in a sort of, ‘be suspicious, arm yourself to the teeth against neighbor,’” Wright said. “And we’re trying to articulate, as followers of Jesus, another way to be.”

In deciding how to follow the example of Jesus on this issue, Wright pointed to the story of Christ’s arrest. According to Gospel accounts, Jesus intervened when one of his followers used a sword against those who came to arrest him.

“And it was Jesus who told him to put the sword down, and to live by the sword is to die by the sword,” Wright said. “So, I mean, I think that’s a pretty clear mandate that we are to live different (sic)…even in the face of impending danger.”

Wright was one of several Atlanta religious leaders who had worked against the passage of the new gun law, and had urged Governor Nathan Deal to veto it.

Atlanta’s Catholic Archbishop Wilton Gregory told WABE he and Savannah Bishop Gregory Hartmayer (HART-myer) are drafting a ban similar to Wright’s for Georgia Catholic churches, to be issued before the new gun law takes effect July 1, 2014.

The Archbishop also stated his opposition to the new law in a letter published in the archdiocesan newspaper, the Georgia Bulletin.

In the interview with WABE, Archbishop Gregory said there have been very few violent attacks in churches, and they should remain places of sanctuary.

“We don’t believe that you increase peace by increasing firearms, especially in those places where there are vulnerable people, children,” Gregory said. “We have law officers to protect us.”

Gregory said there will be exceptions for members of law enforcement and the military.

A statement sent to WABE from the Georgia Baptist Convention notes that each of its 3,600 member churches is autonomous, “while working in cooperation with the Georgia Baptist Convention.”

The statement continued, “The Georgia Baptist Convention has taken no official position concerning HB 60. It is up to each individual Baptist church to decide for itself how it will respond to the matter. The convention encourages all Georgia Baptist churches to make appropriate decisions for their church with the goal being safety and security of all church members and guests.”