Patrick asks for clarity on church gun rules
Security concerns mount in wake of mass shooting
AUSTIN — In wake of the Sutherland Springs church shooting, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is asking the Texas attorney general to clarify when people can carry handguns in a place of worship.
Citing confusion over state law, Patrick is seeking an opinion on whether licensed handgun owners can carry loaded guns into any church, unless the building has a specifically posted prohibition.
“Next legislative session, I will continue to support initiatives to clarify the law and protect gun rights in Texas,” Patrick wrote in a letter Friday to Attorney General Ken Paxton. “Meanwhile, I ask that you please expedite this request so that churches may know what legal options they have to improve their security.”
Concerns about church security have mounted in the wake of Texas’ worst mass shooting, in which Devin P. Kelley shot and killed 26 people last month at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs.
While some of the state’s top Republican leaders, including Paxton, have pushed for arming churchgoers, Democrats have called for tightening Texas gun laws, such as barring people from openly carrying rifles.
A new state law that took effect Sept. 1 makes it easier for churches to install volunteer security teams by doing away with the annual $225 licensing fees they have to pay, Patrick said. It was passed “out of concern that churches, especially smaller congregations, could not shoulder such burdens,” he wrote.
In his letter, Patrick sought to verify that churches wouldn’t have to pay fees for assembling volunteer security teams.
State Democrats have taken a different approach, suggesting potential law changes to ban the open carry of rifles and to make it a state criminal offense for someone to lie on a background check form when purchasing a gun. Because Republicans in control of the Legislature have steadily been loosening firearms restrictions over the past few decades, it’s not clear how much traction those policies could get.
“Next support legislative initiatives session, to clarify I will the continue law and to protect gun rights in Texas. Meanwhile, I ask that you please expedite this request so that churches may know what legal options they have to improve their security.” Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, writing to Attorney General Ken Paxton