Carrying at church

[The Annoyed Man]

Let men do what real men do in times of trouble.

That's about it.

[longtooth]

Thank you gentlemen. I assure you I am not that smart. It is God our Holy Spirit that puts the easy to remember phrases & statements in my mind & heart.
Thank you Lord for helping others w/ them.

[Venus Pax]

I also carry at church. (And one of my diaper bags has the perfect compartment until I can start wearing normal clothes again!)

There are several others in my church that carry, but they're all men (no offense, men. I just wish more ladies carried too).

[srothstein]

Heliguy mentioned several churches are forming security teams made up of CHL holders. Be careful how you proceed there and what you call them. In Texas anyone that provides security functions must have a security license, anyone that is armed must be commissoned. Read the law and make sure your organization is not in violation of it. I would hate to see folks with good intentions get bad consequences!

While I definitely agree with your sentiments, and even your general warning, I thought I would post that there might be a small exception to it. The Board of Private Security has made one ruling that says there is one possible exception. As you can see, even they are vague about it:

Church Volunteer Security Patrol May 10, 2007

A volunteer security patrol made up of church members would generally require licensing under the provisions of Section 1702.108 or 1702.222, regardless of whether any compensation is received as a result of the activities. The only exception to licensing provided by the legislature for nonprofit and civic organizations is found in Section 1702.327, which applies specifically to nonprofit and civic organizations that employ peace officers under certain circumstances and
would not be applicable here.

However, there is one exception to licensing under Chapter 1702 provided by the legislature that could arguably apply, which can be found in section 1702.323 (“Security Department of Private Business”). This exception would allow volunteers to provide security services exclusively for one church, as long as they do not carry firearms and as long as they do not wear “a uniform with any type of badge commonly associated with security personnel or law enforcement or a patch or
apparel with ‘security’ on the patch or apparel.” See TEX. OCC. CODE §1702.323(a) & (d)(2). Thus, the wearing of a uniform or any apparel containing the word “security” would subject them to the licensing requirements of the act.

This is from their official web site: Texas Private Security Board.

Since this is both debatable and it requires the people to be unarmed, I do not recommend it. Instead, i recommend looking at Longtooth's post and security plan. It seems much more reasonable to me. But, I thought I would post this so we all have the correct information.

[longtooth]

Thank you Steve.

[The Annoyed Man]

I am one of those who has posted about a "security team" made up of CHL holders. In my posts, I also made sure to include the word "informal," and it was in the context merely of wanting to CHL holders at my church identified to one another so that none of us accidentally shoots another during a shooting crisis. But it had nothing to do with formally organizing as a recognized security team.

[pewilsontx]

We don't have a formal security team but we have anywhere from 8 - 12 CHL holders carrying each Lord's Day. We make sure we are strategically placed throughout the worship area and we have 2 that roam, inside and out.
There are at least 2 in the building when "the doors are open".
We have hosted at least one CHL class every quarter for the past two years. Class sizes have run from 8 - 20 people. Some members of the congregation, including "little old ladies" and many from the community.
Our leadership has discussed and specifically decided we will not post the 30.06 signs.

[longtooth]

This preacher & s you sir.