Harford Congregations Inspire Parishioner Protection Act

HARFORD COUNTY, MD — Harford County leaders are proposing a bill that they say would help keep parishioners safe. It is called the Parishioner Protection Act and would permit congregation members to carry concealed handguns on church property provided they have permission from the church and can legally possess a firearm in Maryland.

Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said the legislation was prompted by parishioners who approached him to discuss methods of protection at their houses of worship.

"...many congregations, many pastors have reached out to the sheriff's office looking for active shooter training," Gahler said. Some churches have off-duty police at services for security, while others are making sure law enforcement members attending services are armed, he said.

An active shooter seminar that will be held Thursday at a church in Joppa has had more than 500 people register, according to Gahler, who said it has attracted both parishioners and business owners.

The conversation about church security came after a November shooting that left 26 dead at a church in Sutherland, Texas, and the June 2015 shooting that took nine lives in a church in Charleston, South Carolina.

"It can certainly happen here," Gahler said. "In 2006, we saw an armed robbery of a church congregation, and we know that some of the horrific things that can happen to a community can happen here."

The Mt. Zion Church had "the entire congregation robbed at gunpoint" during a service, he said.

In October, three people were killed in a shooting at Advanced Granite Solutions in Edgewood. In February 2016, two Harford County deputies were killed while investigating a report of a wanted person in Abingdon.

Because in Harford County there are about 20 deputies on patrol at any given time and more than 300 churches, Gahler said it was not feasible to have deputies handling security at churches.

“Giving churches the ability to permit congregation members to wear and carry a firearm will save lives and allow citizens to protect themselves in our houses of worship," Gahler said in a prepared statement.

Currently, he said that the law prohibits transporting a gun without a handgun permit, and concealed carry permits were restrictive in the state of Maryland.

The idea for the Parishioner Protection Act "grew out of the faith-based community reaching out to us," Gahler said.

"This legislation is not mandating that a church do anything," Gahler said. "It's giving the congregation, giving the pastors the ability to decide for them what is the best way to offer security....It does nothing to mandate that a church has to have a gun."

Kathly Szeliga, House minority whip who is co-sponsoring the bill, said that the legislation made sense, particularly given the posture of those attending church.

"I ask you to think about a Sunday service..." Szeliga said. "People come in with their back to the door and are not aware of what’s going on behind them. It leaves them vulnerable.”

The bill will be introduced by Szeliga and Senator Wayne Norman in the 2018 legislative session, which runs from Jan. 10 to April 9, 2018.

See Also:

• Maryland Senator To Propose Capital Punishment Bill In 2018
• Maryland Shooter In Custody; 3 Dead, 3 Injured: Sheriff
• 2 Deputies Killed in Abingdon Shooting, Suspect Dead

In this Feb. 27, 2013 file photo Hank Johnson displays his handgun, in Springboro, Ohio. Dealing a blow to gun supporters, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday, June 9, 2016, that Americans do not have a constitutional right to carry concealed weapons in public. (AP Photo/Al Behrman, File)