Sometimes, I go out of town. I meet strangers in different places, and when they ask me where I’m from, I tell them, “I live in Arkansas.” Following my statement, I get the same reaction. From ARKANSAS? You don’t look like it!

People I meet assume that Arkansans are backward country folk (given, there are some) using outhouses, and marrying cousins and whatnot. It always bothered me. I knew Arkansas was a little country, but why was everyone always so surprised.

It wasn’t until a few days ago, did I see the light. Republican Governor of Arkansas, Mike Beebe, signed a bill legalizing concealed carry in churches.

All of a sudden, my interactions with people outside Arkansas was brought into perspective. People probably think of us in this way, because we do absurd things. For example, we allow people to walk into church with hidden firearms.

Let’s do a little comparing. What’s better- allowing some hero to bring a gun to church and stop the bad guy in the nick of time, or legally allowing some psychopath to bring his pistol to service.

It blows my mind that people believe having guns in church is a solution to anything. In what situation would that be necessary? If a bad guy brings a gun to church, of course! Well, according to DefensiveCarry.com, there have been 18 shootings since 2001.

In my opinion, this is silly. It’s promoting violence in a place that is supposed to be associated with peace (church).

To be fair, the bill says that churches have the choice of whether or not they want their church goers to be packing heat. This is nice, but as Democrats and Republicans both have argued, if someone wants to bring their gun, they will.

Don’t get the idea that I’m condoning gun control. I wholeheartedly believe in our Constitutional rights to bear arms (in case the people have to uprise against the government.) But if I were in charge, you would keep your guns home on the Sabbath, but you can use it to hunt later.