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Church Carry - Reciprocity Question

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2009 8:01 am
by WildBill
I am invited to my cousin’s wedding next Saturday at the First Baptist Church in Arlen and I want to carry my 1911 inside the church during the wedding, but I am worried about the new Church Reciprocity Law. I want to be legal, but I am not sure about the reciprocity laws regarding church carry. My CHL instructor said that the Baptists had reverse-reciprocity with the Methodists, but not vice versa. He said that if I were a Baptist I could carry in a Methodist church in addition to carrying in a Baptist Church, but since I am a Methodist, I can only carry in a Methodist church and not a Baptist one.

I am still a little confused and wanted some more clarification on this matter so I called the DPS in Austin and had a very short conversation with a CHL Trooper, but after I asked the question we were cut off so I never got an answer. When I tried to call back the phone just kept ringing.

I am taking my girlfriend to the wedding. She has a CHL too, but since she is Jewish and can’t carry on the Sabbath in a church, so I don’t know what to do. Since the church is in a bad section of town I don’t want to go to the wedding without being armed. Please can anybody help?

Re: Church Carry - Reciprocity Question

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2009 8:19 am
by longtooth
Baptist Pastor here for 37yrs.
There is no such thing as Church Reciprocity in the penal code.
If the church where you are going to attend the wedding is not legally posted w/ a 30-06 sign then you are legal. Dont tell & you wont be given verbal notice.
If there is a 30-06 sign at the entrance then you cannot legally carry.

She can too as long as it does not offend her concience. No law against it nor Scripture that prohibits.

Re: Church Carry - Reciprocity Question

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2009 8:30 am
by Wrightwing
WildBill wrote:I am invited to my cousin’s wedding next Saturday at the First Baptist Church in Arlen and I want to carry my 1911 inside the church during the wedding, but I am worried about the new Church Reciprocity Law. I want to be legal, but I am not sure about the reciprocity laws regarding church carry. My CHL instructor said that the Baptists had reverse-reciprocity with the Methodists, but not vice versa. He said that if I were a Baptist I could carry in a Methodist church in addition to carrying in a Baptist Church, but since I am a Methodist, I can only carry in a Methodist church and not a Baptist one.

I am still a little confused and wanted some more clarification on this matter so I called the DPS in Austin and had a very short conversation with a CHL Trooper, but after I asked the question we were cut off so I never got an answer. When I tried to call back the phone just kept ringing.

I am taking my girlfriend to the wedding. She has a CHL too, but since she is Jewish and can’t carry on the Sabbath in a church, so I don’t know what to do. Since the church is in a bad section of town I don’t want to go to the wedding without being armed. Please can anybody help?
"rlol" First April Fool joke of the day...

Re: Church Carry - Reciprocity Question

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2009 8:36 am
by Keith B
It really depends on a few things as far as I am aware:

1. I too am Methodist. As a Methodist, I was sprinkled during baptism. Many Churches will not accept sprinkling and require you to be immersed. If her church does not accept you as a 'sprinkled' Methodist, then they may not honor reciprocity.

2. Does her church have a minimum caliber requirement? A lot of churches will only allow calibers starting with a .4 and above. Make sure you and your girlfriend at least have that minimum requirement.

3. Is this a 'shotgun' wedding? If so, then the presence of a firearm automatically sets precedence and all other attendees may carry. Long guns may be carried openly, but you have to posses a CHL if you choose to conceal. Make sure to determine if the wedding is formal or not so you know if you must Duracoat your gun white before attending.

As an additional note; At the reception, some churches now require you to only perform the send-off 21 gun salute with steel shot. Lead shot is hazardous to the bride and groom in case they want to start a family.

Enjoy the wedding!!

P.S. Ammo boxes make great gift wrapping for shower gifts!!

Re: Church Carry - Reciprocity Question

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2009 9:22 am
by pbwalker
"rlol" "rlol" "rlol" "rlol"

Re: Church Carry - Reciprocity Question

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2009 9:57 am
by flintknapper
Pretty good! :mrgreen:


Happy April 1st everyone!

Re: Church Carry - Reciprocity Question

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2009 4:39 pm
by longtooth
OK I have egg on my face but I am soooooo easily deceived being the nice guy that I am.


But I do learn fast.
Shame on yall. :nono: "rlol"

Re: Church Carry - Reciprocity Question

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2009 4:49 pm
by Keith B
longtooth wrote:OK I have egg on my face but I am soooooo easily deceived being the nice guy that I am.


But I do learn fast.
Shame on yall. :nono: "rlol"
Hook, line and sinker. :lol:

It's OK LT. I almost bit too until I saw who posted it and remembered the date!! "rlol"

Re: Church Carry - Reciprocity Question

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2009 6:12 pm
by WildBill
Keith B wrote:
longtooth wrote:OK I have egg on my face but I am soooooo easily deceived being the nice guy that I am.

But I do learn fast.
Shame on yall. :nono: "rlol"
Hook, line and sinker. :lol:

It's OK LT. I almost bit too until I saw who posted it and remembered the date!! "rlol"
I am glad that yall have a sense of humor. :biggrinjester:

I have been waiting for months to make this post. I must have gotten LT before he had his second cup of coffee. :mrgreen:

I don't know how many of you noticed the reference to Arlen, Texas. :smilelol5:

Re: Church Carry - Reciprocity Question

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2009 6:47 pm
by Oldgringo
I read the OP twice and wondered, "Is this guy for real"?

Good one :cheers2:

Re: Church Carry - Reciprocity Question

Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 10:14 am
by DoubleJ
WildBill wrote: I am glad that yall have a sense of humor. :biggrinjester:

I have been waiting for months to make this post. I must have gotten LT before he had his second cup of coffee. :mrgreen:

I don't know how many of you noticed the reference to Arlen, Texas. :smilelol5:
I didn't get a chance to read this yesterday, but I thoroughly enjoyed that.

"propane and propane accessories..."

good'en.

Re: Church Carry - Reciprocity Question

Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 8:27 pm
by PsychDiver
You all really missed the point. Just put an extra $20 in the plate and you can carry concealed. A $100 and you can open carry. :thumbs2:

Re: Church Carry - Reciprocity Question

Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 11:22 pm
by aerod1
At our church we perform a body search to see if you have a gun. If you don't, you are sent home to get one and then you must sit through an hour long sermon about not leaving your gun at home. :lol:

Re: Church Carry - Reciprocity Question

Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 11:40 pm
by surprise_i'm_armed
Here's a cool little piece of trivia that y'all may or may not know.

In "King of the Hill" the town they live in is Arlen, a city/suburban area of Texas,
not a West Texas kind of town.

Mike Judge, the creator of the show, lived in both Garland and Richardson, Texas.

Arlen is his joking way of referencing Garland!

Re: Church Carry - Reciprocity Question

Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2009 9:28 am
by DoubleJ
surprise_i'm_armed wrote:Here's a cool little piece of trivia that y'all may or may not know.

In "King of the Hill" the town they live in is Arlen, a city/suburban area of Texas,
not a West Texas kind of town.

Mike Judge, the creator of the show, lived in both Garland and Richardson, Texas.

Arlen is his joking way of referencing Garland!
You ever see Office Space?