Senate Democrats Push Bill That Could Prevent Churches From Having Armed Security

Senator Edward Markey (D-MA) is pushing legislation that could prevent churches around the country from using a “security services unit” comprised of concealed carriers in congregations, parishes, etc.

The bill is the Preventing Private Military Act of 2024, and it is co-sponsored by Senator Laphonza Butler (D-CA).

The text of the bill prohibits “acting as part of or on behalf of a private paramilitary organization and armed with a firearm, explosive or incendiary device, or other dangerous weapon.”

In another portion of the bill, the text provides circumstances that qualify as an action that is prohibited and includes the use of “large capacity ammunition feeding devices,” which is leftist speak for magazines that hold more than ten rounds.

Protestia sounded the alarm over the bill, suggesting it “would make it illegal to ‘publicly patrol, drill, or engage in techniques capable of causing bodily injury or death.’”

Texas church hero Jack Wilson says that Michael Bloomberg's gun controls would have rendered congregants defenseless on the day of the church attack. https://t.co/4G05Mhuwxl

— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) January 22, 2020

They warned that “power to enforce this law would be derived from the interstate commerce clause of the constitution” and “would be applicable whenever a church security team utilizes either weapons or ammunition.”

Protestia noted, “Additionally, if an active shooting situation took place, and the shooter was killed or injured by the church security team, the proposed law would make members of the security team subject to criminal penalties that range from 5 years to life in prison.”

The applicable text of the bill says, “In the case of a violation that results in…bodily injury, the person shall be fined under this title, imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both; or death, the person shall be fined under this title and imprisoned for any term of years or for life.”

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a pro-staffer for Pulsar Night Vision. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010 and holds a Ph.D. in Military History, with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.