Brant W. Williams is the owner of Frontier Firearms, a gun store and shooting range in Kingston, Tennessee. Williams read the news of attacks on Christians in mass shootings in Oregon and in Charleston, South Carolina. He read of Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey’s call for Christians to arm themselves and to get a carry permit. He decided to act . . .
Williams is offering Christians a discount of five percent on selected firearms in his store. The promotion garnered national publicity on Facebook, garnering both intense criticism and fervent support . Williams claims he doesn’t deny anyone a discount because of their faith, nor does he ask for “credentials.” But he wondered if armed Christians should be more visible. As a deterrent.
Williams came up with the idea of enameled Christian Carry Pins. They simply state “I am Christian and I carry.” A bible verse is identified at the bottom of the pin. Luke 22: 35-37 is the most common:
Luke 22:35-37 And He said to them, “When I sent you without money bag, knapsack, and sandals, did you lack anything?” So they said, “Nothing.” Then He said to them, “But now, he who has a money bag, let him take it, and likewise a knapsack; and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one. “For I say to you that this which is written must still be accomplished in Me: ‘And He was numbered with the transgressors.’ For the things concerning Me have an end.”
The pins cost $5 each. Sales appear strong. In an article about the pins, Em Chitty (yes, that seems to be her real name), an Everytown for Gun Sense Supporter, compared Christians in the United States to ISIS. From wowt.com:
“I am stunned that anyone that says he follows the Prince of Peace is associating with Christ and with weapons and violence,” said Em Chitty, a woman who opposed the pins.
Chitty said she is concerned with religious hatred in America, and she believes Williams is betraying what our country is supposed to be about.
“I ask myself the question — how is that different from what ISIS does,” said Chitty. “I don’t find an answer there.”
While Em Chitty is well educated, she appears to be delusional when it comes to the concept of defense of self and others. It’s hard to believe that she sees no difference between ISIS, with its policies of forced conversion or death, literal slavery, rape of women and children that are captured, burning captured prisoners alive; and literal crucifixion, as the same as American Christians carrying arms for self defense.
But that is the classic equivalence that disarmists use. They try to convince us that self defense is the same as murder, rape, and slavery. Regardless, I suspect that Brant Williams is going to sell a lot of pins. It’s an intermediate position between concealed carry and open carry, though it works with both.
©2015 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
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