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Arm Churches And ‘That Gunman Will Be Taken Out,’ Says Texas AG

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Joshua Gill Religion Reporter
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said more church parishioners should be armed in the wake of the worst church shooting in American history.

Paxton said in a Sunday interview with Fox that while he wished a law could prevent mass shootings like Devin Kelley’s massacre of 26 people at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, a citizen’s armed confrontation with Kelley showed the efficacy of concealed carry laws in stopping mass shooters, according to Fox News Insider.

Kelley killed 26 people and wounded as many as 30 others until an unnamed citizen confronted Kelley with a gun, exchanged fire with him, and pursued him in a car chase along with hero Johnnie Langendorff until Kelley crashed and police found Kelley dead in his car.

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“You can’t necessarily keep guns out of the hands of people who are going to violate the law. If someone is willing to kill someone, they’re also going to be willing to violate a gun law,” Paxton told Fox. “All I can say is in Texas at least we have the opportunity to have conceal carry. And so, if it’s a place where somebody has the ability to carry, there’s always the opportunity that gunman will be taken out before he has the opportunity to kill very many people.”

Fox News anchor Eric Shawn argued with Paxton in an interview that guns and churches were “two potentially diametrically opposed concepts.” Paxton conceded that many people do not bring guns to church for that very reason, but stuck to his guns.

“We need people in churches, either professional security, or at least arming some of the parishioners or the congregation so they can respond if something like this, when something like this happens again” Paxton added.

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