BOSSIER CITY, La. (AP) - Members of Bossier Parish churches
trained with sheriff's deputies Saturday to prepare themselves for
the unlikely event someone might threaten their congregations with
violence.

In the first of several planned Church Security Training
Sessions at the Bossier sheriff's gun range, the 20 trainees sat
through several classroom hours before taking their weapons to the
range.

The class follows a law that went into effect in July allowing
guns to be carried inside houses of worship across the state. Those
attending already held concealed-carry permits and have experience
with guns.

"Over the past several years, the violence has gotten worse and
worse" said Jim Middleton, a retired member of the Elm Grove
Baptist Church in south Bossier Parish. "I'd rather be proactive
than working after the fact. We're all in God's army, and you don't
see any army going to war unarmed."

Middleton said his church has discussed security, including
possibly adding a security detail to services. He said he wanted to
be ready to serve in that capacity if asked.

The class included lessons on physiological changes during
violent encounters, lessons on control tactics like pressure points
and takedowns and the justifications for a physical response to
dangerous situations. On the range, they practiced controlled
shooting, reload drills, drawing techniques and speed drills.

"Each and every one of you here are patriots because you care
to provide protection to the innocent," said state Rep. Henry
Burns, the author of the legislation. He visited the class to thank
them. "We should be able to worship our Lord without fear."

Burns called churches a "manageable area of concern" when it
comes to gun regulation and said an increased level of violence
against worshippers nationally made the new law necessary and
appropriate.

Middleton said those who oppose the bill aren't living in
reality.

Dawn Boyter, a member of the Southern Methodist Church in
Haughton, agreed and said her church asked her to take the class
because of her previous firearms experience.

"If I were a criminal and was trying to make a statement, I'd
pick a school or a church, somewhere that's a gun-free zone,"
Boyter said. "People are going to think twice if they know a
church is armed."

She said her church still is in the early stages of creating a
safety plan.
Sheriff's spokesman Lt. Ed Baswell, a pastor at the Clarion
Baptist Church in south Bossier Parish, said the new measures might
be appropriate for some churches and not for others. He said his
small church likely won't take part.

He said the sheriff's office isn't advocating weapons in
churches, but wanted to provide proper training to congregations
that plan to take advantage of the law.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)BOSSIER CITY, La. (AP) - Members of Bossier Parish churches
trained with sheriff's deputies Saturday to prepare themselves for
the unlikely event someone might threaten their congregations with
violence.

In the first of several planned Church Security Training
Sessions at the Bossier sheriff's gun range, the 20 trainees sat
through several classroom hours before taking their weapons to the
range.

The class follows a law that went into effect in July allowing
guns to be carried inside houses of worship across the state. Those
attending already held concealed-carry permits and have experience
with guns.

"Over the past several years, the violence has gotten worse and
worse" said Jim Middleton, a retired member of the Elm Grove
Baptist Church in south Bossier Parish. "I'd rather be proactive
than working after the fact. We're all in God's army, and you don't
see any army going to war unarmed."

Middleton said his church has discussed security, including
possibly adding a security detail to services. He said he wanted to
be ready to serve in that capacity if asked.

The class included lessons on physiological changes during
violent encounters, lessons on control tactics like pressure points
and takedowns and the justifications for a physical response to
dangerous situations. On the range, they practiced controlled
shooting, reload drills, drawing techniques and speed drills.

"Each and every one of you here are patriots because you care
to provide protection to the innocent," said state Rep. Henry
Burns, the author of the legislation. He visited the class to thank
them. "We should be able to worship our Lord without fear."

Burns called churches a "manageable area of concern" when it
comes to gun regulation and said an increased level of violence
against worshippers nationally made the new law necessary and
appropriate.

Middleton said those who oppose the bill aren't living in
reality.

Dawn Boyter, a member of the Southern Methodist Church in
Haughton, agreed and said her church asked her to take the class
because of her previous firearms experience.

"If I were a criminal and was trying to make a statement, I'd
pick a school or a church, somewhere that's a gun-free zone,"
Boyter said. "People are going to think twice if they know a
church is armed."

She said her church still is in the early stages of creating a
safety plan.
Sheriff's spokesman Lt. Ed Baswell, a pastor at the Clarion
Baptist Church in south Bossier Parish, said the new measures might
be appropriate for some churches and not for others. He said his
small church likely won't take part.

He said the sheriff's office isn't advocating weapons in
churches, but wanted to provide proper training to congregations
that plan to take advantage of the law.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)