Protection, Concealed Handguns, and Louisiana Bishops

There is a lot of national press on a new Louisiana law that has gone into effect allowing for the carrying of concealed handguns inside of a church, synagogue, or mosque. This was HB 68; ; HB 1272 substitute.

The Louisiana Catholic Conference of Bishops, our own Bishop Michael Jarrell being a member, has released statements related to the new law. Because it was not mandatory, the bishops of our state took a neutral position. The law allows the leaders of churches, synagogue, or mosques to authorize persons with a valid permit to carry a weapon into those buildings.

Our bishops have notified all pastors in the state that _no_ concealed weapons will be allowed within Catholic churches. Danny Loar, executive director of the Conference, has said the policy of the bishops is, "We don't think it is appropriate to have guns in churches."