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[spin]

16. It's very common for those who oppose concealed carry ...

to insinuate that those who do legally carry are "scared" and ridicule them.

I suppose to many who are unfamiliar with gun owners this might seem logical. However the charge is false. I know many ex-military and ex-police who carry firearms concealed. Let me assure you that they don't live in fear but only wish to be prepared as I do.

I don't wear a seat belt because I am afraid that I will be in an accident or because I might get a ticket. I wear it because I have been in an accident and wasn't wearing one. (This accident occurred in the early 60s and older Volkswagen Beetle I was a passenger in didn't have seat belts. I took out the windshield with my face but fortunately wasn't seriously injured although the Beetle was totaled. I learned a very valuable lesson then.)

I've always had fire extinguishers in my home but only had to use one once to put out a fire. I was damn glad I had it. However I am not terrified of a fire.

Churches are often gun free zones and as such attract people with mental issues who wish to kill a large number of others. Such shootings are fortunately rare but they do happen. I would remind you that this month on August 5, six people were shot and died in a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.

Photos: Sikh temple shooting

Aug. 10, 2012

Six people were killed by white supremacist Wade Michael Page in a shooting rampage on Sunday, Aug. 5, 2012, at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in Oak Creek, Wis. Page killed five men and one woman, and injured two other men. Authorities say he ambushed the first police officer who responded, shooting him nine times, leaving him in critical condition. A second officer then shot Page in the stomach from about 75 feet away, and Page took his own life with a shot to the head.
http://galleries.apps.chicagotribune.com/chi-sikh-temple-shooting-wisconsin-photos/

Because of the upward trend in church shootings, many churches are developing security measures.

After Recent Church Shootings, 'Armor Bearers' Become More Common
September 24, 2011 5:30 AM

On Sunday mornings, while members of the congregation at the Faith & Power Worship Center in Apopka close their eyes and bow their heads in prayer, one man keeps his head up, his eyes open.

He is Minister David Sepulveda. And he is armed.

***snip***

Sepulveda is the "armor bearer" of Senior Pastor Matthew Shaw. An armor bearer -- a Biblical reference to the one who carries the spear and shield of a warrior -- is traditionally the person in the church who assists the pastor in everything from adjusting the temperature in the sanctuary to picking up visitors at the airport to running interference for the minister.

But the armor bearer's duties also have, in recent years, come to include protecting the safety of the pastor. When a gunman burst into the Greater Faith Christian Church in Lakeland last Sunday and shot pastor William Boss and associate pastor Carl Stewart, the two men who subdued him were described as armor bearers.
http://www.blackchristiannews.com/news/2011/09/after-recent-church-shootings-armor-bearers-become-more-common.html

This article is also interesting:

Church Security in Light of Latest Shooting

The shooting at the Sikh Temple in Wisconsin will once again present the question of whether churches need their own security. It is a good debate to have as crimes against churches including shooting have increased tenfold in recent years. The issue is not if your church will be the victim of some sort of crime, but when.

Crimes against our nation's churches are grossly under reported for several reasons. We want to feel secure while we worship God, and that should be the case. However, there should be a quiet element at play during your services. One that goes unnoticed by the majority of church members.
http://ezinearticles.com/?Church-Security-in-Light-of-Latest-Shooting&id=7216148

As is this one:

Sheriff: Concealed Weapon Saves Church From Man Armed With Shotgun
March 26, 2012 3:54 PM

BOILING SPRINGS, S.C. (AP) — A South Carolina sheriff is praising a man with a concealed weapons permit who helped disarm someone who kicked in the door of a church armed with a shotgun.

***snip***

Jesse Gates had already been to the Southside Freewill Baptist Church in Boiling Springs once Sunday morning, so the pastor’s grandson was keeping his eye on the parking lot when he saw Gates come back, this time taking a shotgun out of his trunk, Wright said.

“They locked the door and they were calling 911 at the time. He didn’t draw his weapon or make any move or action toward this gentleman until he kicked the door open and forced the issue,” Wright said.

After Gates kicked in the door, the pistol pointed at him distracted him enough that the pastor was able to grab the shotgun. Members of the church kept him down until deputies arrived, Wright said.
http://charlotte.cbslocal.com/2012/03/26/sheriff-concealed-weapon-saves-church-from-man-armed-with-shotgun/