The contentious gun rights bill was officially signed by Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant on Friday. According to him, the bill will secure worshippers inside churches against possible assailants. However, the approved gun rights bill created disapproval from the National Gun Control Advocates.
The Mississippi Church Protection Act allows church members to undergo firearms training in order to protect the congregation. It also permits the designated members to bring firearms inside the church premises to give other members protection. However, the gun rights bill would also make it easier for other residents to bring guns without licenses. The new signed bill gathered major criticisms from the gun control advocates, reported by Reuters.
"Churches deserve protection from those who would harm worshippers," said Bryant, a Republican, in a Twitter post explaining his decision to sign the measure into law. Mississippi is the 9th state to approve the gun rights bill.
The Mississippi Association of Chiefs of Police had expressed their opinion about the gun rights bill, claiming the legislation only ruins the state's licensing system. It would be difficult to trace violent criminals because even common people can now secure guns, Yahoo claims. Gun control supporters said the gun rights bill would only place people's lives in greater danger as more untrained people can have firearms.
"I think in the South people have a certain familiarity with guns and are also strong in their religious beliefs," Pastor Pat Ward, who leads The Orchard Church in Oxford, said. "But we don't always think about the relationship between them. What does our familiarity with guns say about us as people who claim to be following God, who preach about peace and love?"
The gun rights bill was passed after nine black worshippers were gunned down by a shooter in Charleston, South Carolina. The blacks were on a bible study when the gunman fired gunshots. The attack was allegedly racially-motivated. Killings in black congregation in West Jackson are also common. Rev. Ervin Ricks claimed that about 1,200 of his black congregation lost most of their family members to gun attack, according to SLTRIB.
The gun rights bill was authored by Baptist pastor and state Rep. Andy Gipson. With the approval of the bill, only two states, Georgia and North Dakota, were left banning all firearms in places of worships.
