Mississippi moves towards allowing people carry concealed guns in church

The bill now has to be passed by the state house of representatives and signed by the governor

The bill now needs to pass through the assembly's lower house (AP)

Churches in Mississippi would permit people to bring concealed weapons to services under a new law that is making its way through the state legislature.

Earlier this week, the legislators in the Mississippi state senate approved the so-called “Church Protection Act”, also known as HB786. It would allow churches to designate members as security guards, who could obtain permits to carry concealed weapons in order to protect congregants from attacks.

Those security guards would be immune from lawsuits stemming from responding to a threat, NBC reported.

One opponent of the bill, State Senator Hillman Frazier, pulled out a sword during a debate in the Mississippi Capitol on Tuesday, citing a biblical story about a disciple cutting off a servant’s ear.

“We don't need to pimp out the church for political purposes,” he said. “If you want to pass laws to liberalise gun laws, do that. But don't use the church to do that.”

Senator Sean Tindell, a supporter of the measure, said the bill would only give churches the option to create a security force.

“It gives members of the church, if they so choose, a greater ability to protect themselves and their families and their church,” he said.

Dylann Roof has been charged with nine counts of murder

The Mississippi Senate voted 36-14 in favor of the measure, which now heads to the House.

America’s largest gun lobbyist, the National Rifle Association, praised the Mississippi lawmakers for defying the gun control activists, saying the measure “ensures that each Mississippian has the right to carry their firearm in the manner that best suits them”.

After the June 2015 attack on a black church in Charleston, South Carolina, when nine people were killed during bible study, gun proponents argued that had someone been armed they may have been able to protect the members. A 21-year-old man, Dylann Roof, faces nine counts of murder for the killings.

But a gun-control advocacy group, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, said the Mississippi bill defied the will of a vast majority of voters who did not see concealed carry permits as a priority.

“Today’s vote is a dangerous setback for our state that dismantles the concealed carry permitting system that has helped to keep Mississippians safe for years,” said member Shirley Hopkins Davis.

“Mississippi lawmakers have made it clear that the will of 83 per cent of Mississippians who agree that a person should have a permit to carry a hidden loaded handgun in public does not matter to them at all.”