Last Sunday while we were enjoying a day of worship and fellowship as usual, Matthew Murray walked into New Life Church in Colorado Springs. Earlier in the day, Murray had murdered two people at a church mission training center 70 miles away. And he had just killed two teenage sisters and gravely wounded their father in the parking lot before entering the church. He was intercepted by Jeanne Assam, a former policewoman who was volunteering as a church security guard, exchanged gunfire with the killer. He missed; she didn’t. After being hit several times, the gunman went down. He then killed himself.
In an CNN interview, Assam, who is also a member of the New Life Church, gave an interesting perspective on the incident. She said that she was thankful she was able to end the tragedy before it go worse. She believed that God was with her and used her to end it. She prayed for the Holy Spirit to give her strength. She had been fasting for three days and was weak--
“I was weak, and where I was weak, God made me strong. He filled me and he guided me and protected me and many other people. And I'm honored that God chose me.She said that believes God kept her calm and focused even though the shooter was more heavily armed—he had two handguns, an assault rifle and 1,000 rounds of ammunition. She said that she has prayed both for the families of the victims and the shooter.
This incident will almost certainly be used by BOTH sides of the gun control debate. I say that because every gun tragedy is used by both sides in this highly charged political debate.
- The anti-gun people will likely point to the mentally unstable gunman who because of current gun laws (or lack thereof) was easily able to arm himself to the teeth and murder innocent people at two different church sites.
- The pro-gun side will just as certainly suggest that it was an “armed response” that put down the shooter. If the church security force would have had whistles or walkie-talkies rather than a gun, many more people would have died.
Which side in the dedate is right? Both? Neither? Pat Paulsen's solutions was to give everyone a gun and require thery wear it... and lock up all the bullets. That makes about as much sense as what the non-comedian politcians are suggesting.
Personally, I just don’t think that what we need in our world are MORE people with guns. I think what we need are more people who have GOD. But sometimes it is good that the people with the guns also have God.
I hope that the next thing the elders have to decide is NOT which of our deacons we need to arm!
4 comments:
I would like to tell Jeanne Assam, the former policewoman who was volunteering as a church security guard. “You were the acting security guard at the time of the ‘unfortunate incident’ at the New Life Church in Colorado Springs, I am sorry to be the one to tell you that you are not to be “fasting for three days” (to the point of weakness) while or just before being on duty any more than you are to be hung over before reporting to serve in such a capacity. That said, (Thank God, you were there! What if you had passed out! Fast on your own time not when peoples lives are depending on you being at full capacity! (It could have turned out a lot worse) I am glad it ended and am sorry you were not able to stop him sooner. Good training probable helped you. You are a brave person and you should know that.
Persons stationed at the doors should have stun guns hidden under their jackets after they get proper training and instructions from the police department. Avoid being surprised by keeping your back to the wall just inside the entrance on both sides so that anyone or more “deranged individuals” entering with guns drawn will be surprised from behind on two fronts at once and don’t be fasting when you are to be on duty.
I should add that stun guns should be used only when necessary only as an alternative to deadly force. Stun guns are not to be used as restraining devices or used for punishment inflicting or persuasion devices. While the physical effects of stun guns are not often permanent the psychological effect they inflict on the recipient and any witnesses can and often do last a lifetime. That said, “Anyone entering a church building with or drawing a gun for any reason (other than to put a stop to a present threat to life) should be treated as an immediate threat to self and others and should be “rendered unable to harm” immediately by whatever means are at your disposal including but not limited to the use of deadly force.”
Post a Comment