There are so many things I love about Arkansas. To the north we have the idyllic geography of the Ozarks, hills rolling and tree-covered, the land covered with fossils from an ancient sea-time. The south is a red-clay pine forest where, if you look very carefully, you can find diamonds. The people here are proud, stubborn, fascinating survivors of the economic turn from rural farming to whatever it is we are now becoming. Sure, there are metropolitan areas. Little Rock is a fine example and just big enough to trip over itself while it morphs into a large city. I love it here and find it hard to imagine living anywhere else.
That doesn’t mean I don’t have times when I shake my head in bewilderment. Yesterday the Arkansas House of Representative voted to allow concealed weapons in churches. Seriously. They did.
The argument is that smaller congregations can’t afford expensive security forces, so it’s every man for himself in the pews now. Legally.
The kind of change Arkansas is going through now is tough for most to stomach. I understand that. I even expected a little paranoia, which we exhibited full-tilt during the last election. But I think we’ve crossed the line when we begin legislating concealed weapons in houses of God. I can’t imagine sitting there on a Sunday morning and wondering if the deacons are packing.
Not that I actually sit there on a Sunday morning, but, you know, if I did it would be most disconcerting.
So what’s next? I’m almost afraid to find out.
No Telling 
See, I grew up in those beautiful Ozarks… the adopted home of the Covenant, the Sword, and the Arm of the Lord. Oh, and FOU. I remember too clearly what happens when guns and religion mix. I don’t want guns anywhere near my house of worship.
Wow. We humans are just buggy, aren’t we? I just hate hate and fear fear, if you know what I mean. Having been raised Catholic and gone to Catholic school, that photo of the nuns is funny and not funny at the same time. Oh, and did you mean for that Google ad for firearms training to be on the right sidebar as an ironic statement or was that placement next to this post an accident?
I knew this one would hit close for you, Laura. It seems that the law provides for churches to “opt out” by posting signs for “no firearms,” but you and I both know this kind of legislative permission to pack heat in church is going to have some consequences.Kathi – hate and fear are monsterous enough without arming those who do both, and in a place of worship, no less. As a bead-rattler myself, I feel the same way about the nuns with guns picture. You know, down here one of the first questions folks ask when they meet you is, “Are you Christian or are you Catholic?” I can hear Laura laughing at that because she knows it’s true.Ah, the automated google ads. Since they create themselves based on words found in posts, they are sometimes more amusing than the post itself. My favorite was under my “Note on the Fridge” to Bush. Under it, google had an ad asking, “Do you know if your spouse is gay? Click Here!”
LOL on the Google Ads. Today, there’s an ad for Potty Training next to that post with the Nuns ‘n’ Guns, which somehow is oddly apt…