Churches And Guns: Should Congregations Carry Weapons To Avoid Mass Shootings?

On this week’s episode of ESSENCE Now, we asked our audience if they would feel safer with firearms inside church walls with the purpose of preventing a mass shooting.

The results were surprising. Sixty-seven percent of our viewers agreed that guns needed to be a part of church, while 33 percent believed that churches should be a sanctuary from violence.

But despite the numbers, numerous studies completed in the wake of mass shootings prove that the “good guy with a gun” narrative can be harmful — owning a gun, it turns out, is less likely to protect you or the people around you.

Check out the rest of the discussion above.