When Illinois lawmakers approved a concealed carry law this month, they preserved absolute bans for a variety of public spaces, including libraries, airports and casinos. But for worshippers who want to pack a pistol in church on Sunday, the new law doesn't stop them.

A state senator who is backed by a group of religious leaders has proposed an amendment to the new state law that would keep guns out of houses of worship. That proposal is among many tweaks to the concealed carry law that are expected to be considered when legislators reconvene in October.

"One of the images of a place of worship is that it's a sanctuary, a safe place not made safe by the minister or anyone else carrying guns, but by the nature of a community agreeing that it's a place off-limits to violence," said the Rev. Philip Blackwell, senior minister at Chicago First United Methodist Church. "To arm ourselves to make it a safe place is an absurdity."

But concealed carry proponents, including some clergy, say congregations should remain free to choose. A blanket ban, they say, would be absurd, given the crime that inspired the law in the first place.

On Sept. 28, 2009, a burglar entered a church in the downstate town of Anna and assaulted church treasurer Mary Shepard. In a federal lawsuit, Shepard, a licensed firearm owner, argued that Illinois law left her defenseless during the attack at Anna First Baptist Church and violated her Second Amendment rights. In December, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed and gave lawmakers six months to find a way for Illinois citizens to legally carry guns.

"She won her case in court that she had a right to carry a firearm," said Valinda Rowe, a spokeswoman for IllinoisCarry, a gun rights advocacy group. "The 7th Circuit ruled in her favor. How can (the state) come back and try to take that away from her? I don't believe it's going to happen."

Of the 50 states with concealed carry laws, at least nine have laws that specifically permit the carrying of firearms into a place of worship under certain conditions. Illinois is not among them. Georgia has a blanket ban, a measure that gun rights advocates say violates religious freedom. Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a gun rights group's challenge to that law.

Colleen Daley, executive director of the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence, said a majority of the Illinoisans who oppose an across-the-board ban on guns in places of worship live downstate where the story of Shepard's attack has spread far and wide. In addition, downstate worshippers were shaken four years ago when a gunman walked down the aisle of a Maryville Baptist church and fatally shot the Rev. Fred Winters as he stood in the pulpit.

The Rev. Cory Respondek, pastor of Living Water Church in Cahokia, said many small churches can't afford to hire security teams. The next best option is allowing licensed and trained congregants and clergy to bear arms.

"I as a pastor want to have the ability for my people to be able to have weapons," said Respondek, who says he intends to occasionally carry a .380 handgun in his pocket, sometimes in the pulpit when he senses security is an issue. "If someone intends to do harm to our church and its members, we can be proactive and stop that threat."

But many other clergy and worshippers take a different approach. The law says property owners including congregations can post signs letting guests know firearms are not permitted on the premises, but some clergy believe the lack of a distinction for houses of worship fails to recognize their role in the community.

"To omit religious institutions from the protected list is to be ignorant of our work," Blackwell said. "Throughout the week we work with people who are deeply troubled, who are desperate, who are despairing and who are afraid. To include us in the 'gun-free' list is to free us to do our work on behalf of all; to not protect us is to dishonor our calling."

State Sen. Dan Kotowski, D-Park Ridge, said he found out during the course of debate that houses of worship were not on the gun-free list. Gov. Pat Quinn also didn't include them on his list of proposed changes when he filed an amendatory veto that was ultimately overridden. Kotowski proposed an amendment last week that could be considered as early as the fall veto session.

"I don't think the people who ran the bill involved leaders of the faith community," Kotowski said. "Had they consulted with these leaders, churches, synagogues, mosques or any other, they would have heard that they want people to be able to worship in peace and silent reflection."

Rowe, of IllinoisCarry, said many religious leaders chose to oppose the concealed carry law in full rather than lobby for certain provisions.

Respondek said he believes the spirit of the law already gives him the right to carry his gun on church property, even though concealed carry permits won't be issued until next year. But that's not enough for Shepard and the Illinois State Rifle Association — they have sued the state once again for insisting on 180 days to sort out administrative details.

mbrachear@tribune.com

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