But that notion has been ridiculed by gun control advocates, who argue that taking high-powered weaponry out of the hands of dangerous individuals can save even more lives.

“It’s not rocket science,” said State Representative Mary Gonzalez, a Democrat from El Paso. “There are so many things that could be done that we just haven’t been doing in the state. We are not trying to take away guns. We’re just trying to make sure guns are not in the hands of the wrong people.”

The gunman in Sunday’s shooting was brought down by a single shot fired by a member of the church’s volunteer security team, the authorities said. The security volunteer, Jack Wilson, is a firearms instructor and gun range owner who has been a reserve deputy with a local sheriff’s department.

A video of the attack, captured on a livestream of Sunday’s church service, showed that Mr. Wilson took only six seconds to kill the gunman, identified by the authorities as Keith Thomas Kinnunen, a drifter who had a string of arrests in various states for assault and other crimes. His most recent address was about six miles from the church.

“The events at West Freeway Church of Christ put me in a position that I would hope no one would have to be in,” Mr. Wilson said in a Facebook post early Monday, adding, “But evil does exist in this world and I and other members are not going to allow evil to succeed.”

West Freeway Church of Christ’s volunteer security team is one of a number of measures adopted by churches, synagogues and mosques across the country as the number of mass shootings targeting worshipers continues to increase.

“When I first started, a lot of churches were reluctant to even talk about that,” said Steven Padin, a retired Buffalo police officer and the chief consultant for the Watchman’s Academy, which focuses on church safety. “It’s a sad situation that more and more churches are becoming aware of it because of the way society is going.”