state house

Alabama State House in Montgomery. (Julie Bennett/jbennett@al.com)

State Rep. Lynn Greer.

An Alabama lawmaker is pushing a bill to authorize churches to have armed security guards within their membership and provide those guards with a level of legal immunity.

State Rep. Lynn Greer, R-Rogersville, has prefiled a bill called the Alabama Church Protection Act.

"I never dreamed the world would get in the shape that it's in in my lifetime but it has," Greer told AL.com on Tuesday. "There are crazy folks on earth and some of them might show up at a church one Sunday."

The bill proposes establishing, "a security program by which designated (church) members are authorized to carry firearms for the protection of the congregation of the church or place of worship."

Greer said several churches in his northwest Alabama district had asked him to sponsor the bill, which he said essentially copies a Mississippi law passed last year. That law is also known as the "Church Protection Act."

Greer also pointed to the 2015 church shooting in Charleston, S.C., that left nine worshipers dead. Dylann Roof, who sat among the congregants before opening fire, has been sentenced to death for the shootings.

"If there had been somebody in there with a pistol, (Roof) might have killed one or two but they would blow him away then, too," Greer said.

While Greer said there are already guns in churches, he said his bill would provide firearms training for the church security force. And it would provide a blanket of protection for the church security force in case a shooting took place.

"This bill would provide limited immunity for members of such a program when acting within the scope of duty as a member of a church protection program," the bill states.

To be eligible for that immunity, the bill requires that each church protection program participant have a state-issued pistol permit as well as complete an instructional course in the safe handling and use of firearms to be taught by local law officials.

Greer said no law enforcement agency to which he has spoken has declined to provide such gun safety education. Though the bill does not include it at this time, Greer said there could be a fee associated with the safety program.

Should a shooting take place, a member of the church protection program could use as a defense the fact that they would operating as a part of the program, according to the bill.

Greer also stressed that if the bill becomes law, it would be optional for churches to participate in the program. Asked what kind of participation he anticipated from churches if it became available, Greer said, "I'd expect most of them to."

"I personally think you need church security," he said. "In my checking around, I found that most churches do have it. Of course, the attendees don't necessarily know who they are. I just think it's necessary."

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