http://www.jsonline.com/features/religion/churches-consider-response-to-concealed-carry-132866023.html
Churches consider response to concealed carry
By Annysa Johnson <mailto:[email protected]> of the Journal
Sentinel
Oct. 29, 2011
Come Tuesday, when Wisconsin's concealed-carry law takes effect, anyone
entering Jackson Park Lutheran Church should leave their weapons at
home. Soon, the south side church will be posting a sign that says, in
effect: The only thing you ought to be packing in this house of God is
your prayer books.
Religious institutions, many of which had opposed the concealed-carry
legislation, must now decide whether to post signs barring weapons from
their premises - knowing that the signs could expose them to greater
legal liability.
Some are opting out, saying posting signs won't protect worshippers from
those hellbent on harm.
But many, like Jackson Park, are posting on principle, saying the very
notion of weapons in houses of worship runs contrary to everything they
represent.
"This was a very strong issue for our council," said Jackson Park's
pastor, the Rev. Fred Thomas-Breitfeld. "We wanted to make a strong
statement, in the face of this new law, that we are a sanctuary, a place
of peace."
Wisconsin's religious communities were among the loudest voices opposing
concealed carry when it passed the Legislature in June.
A coalition of religious lobbying groups - the Wisconsin Conference of
Churches, the Wisconsin Catholic and Jewish conferences, and Lutheran
Office for Public Policy in Wisconsin - had called unsuccessfully for a
blanket exemption for religious institutions.
Houses of worship have been the site of a number of high-profile
shootings across the country, including Wisconsin, where a gunman killed
seven people and himself at a church meeting in a Brookfield hotel in 2005.
Scott Anderson of the Wisconsin Council of Churches said his
organization is exploring its options - for a repeal, an exemption, or a
possible lawsuit on religious liberty grounds.
Immunity in question
Religious institutions, like businesses and nonprofits, face one issue
government entities do not: Under the law as drafted, according to legal
analyses, they lose their blanket immunity from civil lawsuits if they
post a sign.
But the scope of that immunity is unclear, said Stephen Knowles, an
attorney for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Greater
Milwaukee Synod. Questions remain, for example, about how it would
interact with worker's compensation laws that offer remedies to
employees injured in the course of their jobs.
"It's a fairly broad immunity provision," said Knowles, who takes no
position on the question of posting. "This will have to be shaken out
through case law, amendments to the statute, prosecutions."
Church Mutual Insurance Co. in Merrill, one of the larger insurers of
religious institutions in Wisconsin, issued what it calls a risk alert,
notifying customers about the law and urging them to consult attorneys
and law enforcement officials in their decision-making, but assuring
them that their insurance rates would not be affected either way.
Many post signs
In the meantime, religious institutions continue to grapple with the
question: to post or not to post. Most clergy interviewed for this story
said their congregations had already posted signs or were leaning in
that direction.
Some members of MICAH, the Milwaukee Innercity Congregations Allied for
Hope, had posted signs a year ago during a debate over open-carry
legislation, said Sr. Rose Stietz of St. Martin De Porres Catholic
Church at 128 W. Burleigh St.
At Solomon Community Temple United Methodist Church at W. Concordia Ave.
and N. King Drive, Pastor Marvin Spence said a sign sends a message to
the surrounding neighborhood that the church is a sacred place and a
safe haven from violence. And Rabbi Jacob Herber at Congregation Beth
Israel, at 6880 N. Green Bay Ave., said it is consistent with Jewish law
that prohibits the carrying of weapons on the Sabbath or holidays.
But others say they will take a pass. At First Reform Church of
Oostburg, whose men's group hosts an annual skeet shooting event, Pastor
Wayne DeVrou says they're taking a "This too shall pass" approach to the
angst surrounding the new law.
"We think it's kind of an overreaction," he said. "First and foremost,
this is a house of prayer. People know you don't bring weapons to church."
At Spring Creek Church in Pewaukee, Pastor Thomas Price said the
congregation weighed a number of issues, including liability, before
opting not to post. In the end, he said, the consensus was that a
concealed weapon could save lives.
"We think the sign could be harmful," said Price, whose church draws
about 1,600 worshippers a week. "Bad people won't obey it. And good
people will - and not carry on the one Sunday we wish they had."
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