Unlike several other blue states, Maryland's "gun-free zones" don't explicitly include churches and other houses of worship. Like all other private property owners, religious leaders can ban lawful carry if they so choose by posting signage to that effect, but for now that's the only way to prohibit the practice. Maryland does have a "vampire rule" that generally prohibits carry on all private property unless the property owner specifically allows it, but that provision is currently unenforceable thanks to an injunction secured by Second Amendment groups challenging the state's numerous "sensitive places."
Rev. Dr. Harold Carter, Jr. is a Baltimore pastor who's exercising his right to bear arms on church property; not for his own protection, but for the safety of his congregation.
“I carry and I don’t care who knows it,” said Hudson, the pastor of Ames Memorial Church in Sandtown-Winchester and Metropolitan United Methodist Church in Harlem Park. “It’s sad to say — we all believe in God as our protector, but the other harsh reality is that there are so many people who have absolutely no respect for God and the church nowadays.”
Hudson shared the memories and his philosophies on security against a backdrop of shockingly violent acts against churches in recent weeks. One evangelical think tank, the Family Research Council, identified 1,384 acts of hostility, including violence, theft, or arson, toward churches in the U.S. between January 2018 and December 2024.
Several have taken place in Baltimore. They include the nonfatal shooting by a pastor of an intruder at an abandoned church in Union Square and the fatal shooting of a man in front of Adams Chapel AME Church in Northwest Baltimore, both in 2024, and the slaying of a beloved congregant on the grounds of Southern Baptist Church in East Baltimore in 2021.
... For his part, Hudson, a former U.S. Army paratrooper, acknowledges that many pastors, if not most, would frown on his decision to carry a .38 special. But he points to the Book of Acts, which urges church leaders to “be on guard for yourselves and all the flock.”
But Ames and Metropolitan churches can only afford that one uniformed officer.
“If they get past him, I’m the second guard,” Hudson said. “The pastor almost has to be a security guard.”
Good for him, and I hope that Hudson encourages his congregants to carry too, both for their own protection outside of worship and as members of a volunteer church security team.
Armed congregants are probably more common than armed pastors. Rev. Dr. Harold Carter, Jr., for instance, told the Baltimore Sun that he doesn't feel the need to carry a gun for self-defense, but he does want to make sure the 5,000 members of New Shiloh Baptist Church are protected when they're on the campus.
... “Spiritual warfare is a major variable in the equation,” said Carter, a third-generation Baltimore preacher. “We are engaged in a spiritual battle. But people under stress tend to take out their frustrations on religious or faith-based institutions. They stand for something, unlike neighborhoods, community centers, or malls. It becomes simpler and easier to turn one’s frustrations and anger against the church.”
... The congregation now pays a handful of security officers and works with a team of trained volunteers to provide armed protection at every activity, from Sunday morning services to midweek Bible study classes.
Carter said most congregants enjoy the sense of security they provide.
The church has long had surveillance cameras in place, and it has added upgrades and more units over the past two years, with the security team closely monitoring the scene.
If Carter doesn't want to carry for his own personal safety, that's his choice to make. I'm glad to see, though, that he at least recognizes the deterrent effect that armed citizens can have on those who might see the church as a target.
Even though Maryland doesn't specifically ban concealed carry on church property, the state doesn't make it easy to exercise your right to bear arms. Concealed carry applicants are required to attend a state police-approved 16-hour training course, pay for and submit fingerprints along with their $125 application fee, and wait up to three months for approval. That's in addition to the minimum four-hour training course (with a live fire test) and $50 application fee (plus the cost of fingerprinting) that's required to legally purchase and possess a handgun in Maryland.
Despite all those hurdles, megachurches like New Shiloh Baptist Church still have enough gun-owning congregants to have a volunteer security team. In smaller churches, though, it might be up to pastors like Hudson to serve as a first line of defense against an attack on worshippers. If Maryland didn't have such draconian policies it would be easier for houses of worship to be protected by armed parishioners, but the Democrats in Annapolis want to make it as hard as possible for anyone to exercise their right to armed self-defense.
Editor’s Note: The Schumer Shutdown is here. Rather than put the American people first, Chuck Schumer and the radical Democrats forced a government shutdown for healthcare for illegals. They own this.
Help us continue to report the truth about the Schumer Shutdown. Use promo code POTUS47 to get 74% off your VIP membership.
