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What would Jesus carry? How about Buddha or Mohammad?

A question laughable to many churchgoers is one that could be coming soon to a holy site near you.

Religious leaders in Murray and Whitfield counties, and throughout Georgia, are currently weighing the option to permit firearms within their places of worship — in Sunday school classrooms, dining halls or even behind the pulpit.

It is a debate sparked by the state’s “Safe Carry Protection Act,” a bill signed into law in April and effective July 1, which allows licensed gun owners to pack heat in many places previously deemed off-limits including bars, schools, some government buildings and churches.

Licensed gun owners can tote guns into a church, synagogue or mosque, if church leaders decide to “opt-in” to the bill, according to the new law.

Church leaders in Whitfield and Murray counties asked this week for the most part say it is a controversy they’ve yet to address.

“This is not an issue that we have discussed on any level,” said Cyndi Parr, interim minister at Dalton’s First Presbyterian Church. But, “it will be interesting to see how various churches deal with the new law,” she said.

Chester Clark III, pastor at the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Dalton, said: “I’ve not heard any discussion about the new law in our church community. As with most issues, I’m going to guess that there would be a variety of perspectives.”

The question is unanswered at Fellowship Bible Church in Dalton, too. But, Senior Pastor Jim Suddath said some members of the congregation have, at least, discussed it.

“At this point, the conversations I’ve had have been with some permit holders who have expressed a strong desire for safety, and believe — citing shootings at churches and schools in the last decade — that there is a favorable reason for carrying in a church,” he said.

Speaking for himself, as a church member rather than pastor — but stressing he will support any decision made by church elders, once one is made — Suddath said, “I would not have a problem with someone that has a legal permit carrying in a church.”

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