Texas Governor Greg Abbott awarded the Governor’s Medal of Courage on Monday to Jack Wilson, the 71-year old former firearms instructor and deacon of security at West Freeway Church of Christ in White Settlement who shot and killed an attacker in the church’s sanctuary on December 29th, of 2019.

Honored to present the Governor’s Medal of Courage to Jack Wilson today. Jack is not only a hero to West Freeway Church of Christ – he is a hero to the entire state of Texas.

https://t.co/zkVdFztQNo pic.twitter.com/pyNB7yQDNq

— Gov. Greg Abbott (@GovAbbott) January 13, 2020

In his remarks, Governor Abbott praised the armed citizen for saving the lives of hundreds of congregants.

“When faced with an evil that few of us will ever comprehend, Jack Wilson responded with strength, bravery, and with love for those in the church that day,” said Governor Abbott. “The courage in his actions cannot be understated, and Jack is not only a hero to West Freeway Church of Christ — he is a hero to the entire state of Texas.”

The Governor’s Medal of Courage is given to civilians who display great acts of heroism by risking their own safety to save another’s life. It is the highest award given to civilians by the Governor.

Not only did Wilson receive the governor’s medal of courage, he also got to pet the governor’s dog.

This is all that matters today:

Texas church shooting hero Jack Wilson pets Gov. @GregAbbott_TX’s dog, Peaches!

This happened just after Jack was awarded the Medal of Courage for taking down the shooter in his church with one shot from his pistol. pic.twitter.com/cPVVzTogsD

— Caleb Hull (@CalebJHull) January 13, 2020

A great man and a good boy. How perfect.

Of course, if Michael Bloomberg and his anti-gun pals had their way, Jack Wilson wouldn’t have been honored today. Instead, he would have been memorialized along with many others who would have died in the attack at the West Freeway Church of Christ. Instead, thanks to the heroic efforts of Jack Wilson and the church’s security team, the killer’s rampage was stopped within seconds, though tragically not before 67-year old Richard White and 64-year old Anton “Tony” Wallace lost their lives.

Bloomberg and others declared that Wilson shouldn’t have been allowed to have his firearm inside that church, but declaring churches off-limits to lawful gun owners, wouldn’t have prevented the attack. It just would have added to the carnage by preventing good guys from fighting back.

Bloomberg has spent more than $16-million in Texas pushing his presidential campaign, even while proclaiming that “average Americans” like Jack Wilson shouldn’t be allowed to exercise their right to bear arms in public spaces. I doubt Bloomberg will win the Texas Democratic primary, but the state’s gun owners and Second Amendment supporters need to know that he and his anti-gun cohorts will also be trying to use the same playbook they used to flip Virginia’s legislature in 2019 to try and turn Texas blue in 2020.

It may sound crazy, but a lot of gun owners in Virginia thought the idea that Bloomberg could buy an anti-gun majority in their state was silly too.. right up until they saw the sweeping gun and magazine bans proposed by the state’s newly elected lawmakers. They want to disarm Jack Wilson and every other law-abiding gun owner in the state, and Texans can’t afford to ignore the risk to their rights that this year’s elections entail.