Well, We'll Ask the Lord to Forgive Us All of Our Sins/And We'll Look at the Latest in Gold-Plated Firing Pins

Freedom of religion and the right to bear arms -- two great tastes that taste great together:

A pastor in Kentucky is redefining the tradition of wearing your Sunday best to services by encouraging his congregation to strap on holsters and bring their weapons to church.

Pastor Ken Pagano of New Bethel Church in Louisville, Ky., says that he organized an "Open Carry Celebration" to promote responsible gun ownership….

The celebration scheduled for Sunday, June 27, will feature YouTube videos promoting gun safety and will ask congregants to join in singing patriotic songs, according to Pagano.

A $1 raffle to win a free handgun will also be part of the festivities.

The article quickly devolves into a bunch of critical quotes from a Brady Campaign leader, a Million Mom March organizer, and a rival reverend. (Presumably they disapprove of the gun safety videos.) I can't help suspecting the main reason ABC News did the piece was to allow unsympathetic readers to gape at Pagano's plans. Whereas the main reason I'm covering it is for an excuse to embed this classic from the Beat Farmers:

If you live in Louisville and want to attend the event, the details are here. "All that is asked," the church's website notes, "is that you bring a sidearm, a friend who has a sidearm and a canned good for local food bank."

Comments

[Kyle Jordan]

I tend to drift somewhere between Agnosticism and Atheism but if I were near enough to KY, I'd go to this.

[FrBunny]

They also said the guns must be unloaded, so any enterprising local criminal could hit the motherlode.

[John]

"They also said the guns must be unloaded, so any enterprising local criminal could hit the motherlode."

Just because they are unloaded doesn't mean they won't have ammunition on them. I think your enterprising local criminal would get his head blown off.

[FrBunny]

I'm sure you're right John. The "unloaded and secured" is just CYA / SOP for this kind of thing.

I'm gonna go and see if I can identify SugarFree or robc in the crowd.

[P Brooks]

bring a sidearm, a friend who has a sidearm and a canned good for local food bank.

Screw the food bank; have you ever seen what a .44 mag does to a can of creamed corn?

[EJM]

...and will ask congregants to join in singing patriotic songs...

So, hymns are, somehow, not appropriate for that congregation?

[Jose Ortega y Gasset]

Deep seeded?

WTF.

[Jack Sampson]

Wow, you have to admit they bring up some valid points!

RT
http://www.online-privacy.vze.com

[twistedmerkin]

Wow, you have to admit privacy asshole sure is a prick!

[BakedPenguin]

'Bout that time, the front door was kicked in;
There stood some scumball all covered in sin;
He said "that's my woman", I said "that's no lie";
and then I blew a hole in him just as big as the sky...

[Jesse Walker]

So, hymns are, somehow, not appropriate for that congregation?

ABC neglects to mention it, but if you look at the church's website you'll see that it's also an (early) Fourth of July picnic.

[hmm]

"They also said the guns must be unloaded, so any enterprising local criminal could hit the motherlode."

Just because they are unloaded doesn't mean they won't have ammunition on them. I think your enterprising local criminal would get his head blown off.

"Fun" shows are the same way as are a lot of other events that involve guns. You'd have to be mad to bust in to something like that thinking you aren't going to be swiss cheese in a matter of seconds if you pulled a weapon to rob someone. Not to mention local law enforcement is usually there to clear the guns at the door.

It's funny how quickly other churches are willing to denounce such an event and yet they have most likely lead scripture advocating violence in some way or heaven forbid you recognize the such things as the crusades and the history of weapons and "the christian church."

Don't around 100 US citizens, on average, die each day from vehicle accidents? Maybe people should all walk to church instead of driving and endorsing something that kills so many people. I guess guns are scarier than a Honda Accord.

[John-David]

I swear those Brady Campaign assholes make me want to shoot someone.

[Solanum]

I pray tht John Hinckley, and by extension Jodie Foster, burn in everlasting hell for inflicting James Brady on us. And "Contact".

[wayne]

I smell a massacre coming. Talking in tongues and guns don't mix. I can just see the parishioners with serpents in one hand and desert eagles in the other belching lightning and thunder while smiting the pagans.

[Mindy]

John-David, your comment made me laugh so hard I almost fell out of my chair. Seriously, thanks!

[Tulpa]

I'm as pro-gun rights as they come, but even I think this is a stupid publicity stunt. Christians should believe that handguns -- whose sole purpose is to shoot at humans -- are a necessary evil and have absolutely no place being glorified in a church.

[T]

Christians should believe that handguns -- whose sole purpose is to shoot at humans -- are a necessary evil and have absolutely no place being glorified in a church.

Anybody but me see the irony in a guy using a Buddhist screen name telling us all what Christians should believe?

[Tulpa]

T, let not your thoughts be so small and constrained.

The tulpa meme or concept was brought to the West in the 19th century by Alexandra David-N?el, who claimed to have created a tulpa in the image of a jolly, Friar Tuck-like monk which later developed a life of its own and had to be destroyed.

...OR WAS IT?

[mediageek]

Christians should believe that handguns -- whose sole purpose is to shoot at humans

This is the stupidest fucking thing I've read all week.

[Chuck Goolsbee]

Damn I miss the Beat Farmers. RIP Country Dick!

--chuck

[Tulpa]

What other purpose do handguns have, mediageek?

[Tulpa]

I should add that I think it's necessary at times to shoot humans, and thus the right to keep and bear arms is a good thing. It's just not something to glorify, any more than they should have a turkey-slaughtering party in the church the night before Thanksgiving.

[R C Dean]

What other purpose do handguns have, mediageek?

Hunting. Target shooting. By rounds expended, shooting at humans probably ranks below hunting, and way, way below target shooting.

Besides, I'm not aware that most Christians regard self-defense as a sin.

[T]

let not your thoughts be so small and constrained.

My thoughts are magnificent and grandiloquent, not constrained by anything other than the directions of my desire.

[FrBunny]

What other purpose do handguns have, mediageek?

Doorstop for nursery, bottle opener, bug repellent, teething toy, keyring, backscratcher, celebratory device, causeway race starter, replacement spinner for Life board game...

[robc]

What other purpose do handguns have, mediageek?

Fun.

Like shooting holes in pieces of paper and old computer hardware.

[JB]

That's awesome. Something that might get me back in church.

I hope this hurts liberal vaginas all over the land.

[Enough About Palin]

"Fun."

And for picking up farm chicks in the Dakotas.

[Alaska]

Much as I like guns, I agree that this is a great reason to post the Beat
Farmers video.

I am not really sure I want to read the article that would justify embedding the song 'Happy Boy', even though I love that song.

[Enough About Palin]

What's the benefit of a gold-plated firing pin?

[T]

What's the benefit of a gold-plated firing pin?

Ask somebody with a gold-plated Deagle. I'm sure they have a compelling justification.

[TrickyVic]

Guns and religion.
I predict the return of the BATF.

[Jesse Walker]

What's the benefit of a gold-plated firing pin?

A funny rhyme?

[Alice Lillie]

WOW!!!! If I were in the area I'd attend this Sunday with bells on!!!

[mediageek]

What other purpose do handguns have, mediageek?

Let's see, off the top of my head, competition, hunting, plinking, collecting them because handguns are cool.

[Enough About Palin]

"A funny rhyme?"

Surely you jest.

[mediageek]

In fact, I would submit that by any metric available, about the last purpose for which handguns are employed for would be killing people.

Doesn't matter if you look at the number of handguns owned vs. people killed with them, number of rounds expended per year, number of rounds expended per death, number of deaths per year compared to number of handguns sold, or the raw odds that any given person shot with a handgun will actually die from the wound.

In order to believe that "handguns are only made for killin'!" you have to completely dismiss any and all other legitimate reasons for why people actually own handguns, as well as the statistical evidence that shows them to be, quite frankly, poor manstoppers all around.

[Tulpa]

mediageek,

The vast majority of airbags never inflate and stop the forward motion of the occupant of a vehicle, but that is indeed the sole purpose of the things. Are you telling me that a significant number of handgun owners have any other purpose in mind for it other than shooting a person when the need arises? Target practice doesn't count, as that's done in order to more effectively shoot a person when the time comes.

[Tulpa]

And what was the reason for the Second Amendment in the first place? I don't think it had anything to do with making beer bottles explode from 100 feet away.

[T]

Are you telling me that a significant number of handgun owners have any other purpose in mind for it other than shooting a person when the need arises? Target practice doesn't count, as that's done in order to more effectively shoot a person when the time comes.

Doesn't matter. You stated the sole purpose is killin'. All we need is one counter example. So, here you are. This pistol is designed and built solely for competition in shooting holes in pieces of paper. I don't doubt you could kill someone with it, but it ain't designed for it, and it would really suck at it. I'm also willing to bet the number of killings committed with a Hammerli free pistol is zero. So, no the sole purpose of handguns is not killing, just like the purpose of Olympic pentathlon is not to prepare for war as a cavalry officer.

[mediageek]

Are you telling me that a significant number of handgun owners have any other purpose in mind for it other than shooting a person when the need arises? Target practice doesn't count, as that's done in order to more effectively shoot a person when the time comes.

Ah. So I over-estimated you. You went zooming right past outright dismissal of legitimate reasons for owning a handgun and came screeching into a parking space of "gun owners are just wanting to shoot someone!"

[TrickyVic]

"""So, no the sole purpose of handguns is not killing, just like the purpose of Olympic pentathlon is not to prepare for war as a cavalry officer."""

Don't get Tulp started on javelin throwing.

[mediageek]

Computers are only good for committing identity theft.

[T]

Computers are only good for committing identity theft distributing child pornography.

Let's go with a flashier crime, mg. Identity theft is so jejune.

[HeadTater]

I don't see anything wrong with this. If only my local Catholic Church in Illinois would do something like this. Too bad Illinois is run by the Chicago Machine which is controlled by close-minded Democrats like the Daly clan.

$1million liability insurance required for all gun owners my ass!

Oh, and "turn the other cheek" is not about self defense. It is about revenge. There is a difference.

[mediageek]

Also, don't forget that cars that are capable of exceeding the speed limit are only good for speeding.

[Voros McCracken]

And what was the reason for the Second Amendment in the first place? I don't think it had anything to do with making beer bottles explode from 100 feet away.

Clearly Tulpa hasn't read Federalist No. 29.

Federalist No. 29

[LarryA]

Are you telling me that a significant number of handgun owners have any other purpose in mind for it other than shooting a person when the need arises? Target practice doesn't count, as that's done in order to more effectively shoot a person when the time comes.

If your thesis is true, why are so many single-action revolvers, single shot pistols, and muzzleloading handguns being manufactured?

Of course, lots of folks do get into plugging badguys.

Loads of fun.

Back on topic, here in Texas concealed carry in church is legal so we don't make a fuss of it. I bet the folks who attend the New Life Church are glad that you can carry during services in Colorado. CHL Jeanne Assam was credited with saving 50 to 100 lives.

[kkate14]

Please, will someone help me? I am 12 years old, yet I got in seriuous trouble, and now ouw my mom $142, not knowing how to pay it off. I have prayed to the Lore asking him to forgive me, and to help me. I am crying right now because I don't know if he will help me. Please will someone help me know what to do?