Tennessee Lt. Gov. calls for Christians to arm themselves
Lt. Gov. Ramsey's Facebook post calls for Christians to arm themselves
http://www.wsmv.com/story/30215172/lt-gov-ramseys-facebook-post-calls-for-christians-to-arm-themselves
Posted: Oct 08, 2015 8:09 PM
Updated: Oct 08, 2015 8:09 PM
Reported by Heather HouriganCONNECT
The post appeared on Ron Ramsey's official Facebook page on Oct. 2.
The post appeared on Ron Ramsey's official Facebook page on Oct. 2.
Ron Ramsey
Ron Ramsey
NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) -
Gun control and religion are heated and controversial topics, and Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey has strong opinions about both.
Ramsey says Christians specifically are in the sights of jihadist extremists and racial supremacists.
But after many phone calls, Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey remains silent. His remarks are loud on social media, though, which has people all over the state of Tennessee chiming in to share their opinions.
Ramsey went to Facebook after the shooting at a community college in Oregon that killed nine people, writing this, in part:
I would encourage my fellow Christians who are serious about their faith to think about getting a handgun carry permit. I have always believed that it is better to have a gun and not need it than to need a gun and not have it. Our enemies are armed. We must do likewise.
Reactions to Ramsey's comments have been mixed.
"That sounds completely ridiculous to me. I don't think that is going to solve anything at all," said resident Tate Mortenson.
"Christians should own guns if they choose to, but anyone who can legally own a gun should be able to do so, if they choose to," said Leroy Farris with the Nashville Armory.
Gun control is controversial enough, but now with a religious spin, many are outraged and confused.
"That seems a bit odd to me because, I think, as a state leader or any type of government employee, you probably want to separate church from state," said resident Steve Conway.
At a gun store in East Tennessee, there was no separation of religion and guns since the owner was offering a discount to Christians.
"I'd like to let Christians know there are businesses out there, even though the law likes to silence us, and those that oppose us try to silence us, we won't be silenced," said Brant Williams, the owner of that store.
Channel 4 called Ramsey on Friday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday for comment, but phone calls were never returned.
"The lieutenant governor obviously can speak for himself on those issues. I think I will let him respond to that," said Gov. Bill Haslam.
The governor, nor other religious organizations in Nashville, want to speak on this topic.
Father Joseph Breen says, from a religious perspective, he is disappointed.
"First of all, Christians are not supposed to kill others, so for him to say that we should all have guns, that goes against, to me, what is the main teaching of the Christian church," he said.
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