House Committee approves armed guards at church

State Rep. Andy Gipson said it broke his heart to file the "Mississippi Church Protection Act" legislation giving churches the option to have armed security and providing immunity against prosecution for killing someone while defending the church.

The House Judiciary B Committee, of which Gipson, R-Braxton, is chairman, passed the legislation out of committee Thursday. It now goes to the full House.

"It breaks my heart to offer a bill like this," said Gipson, a minister. "Churches used to be one of the safest places."

Gipson said there are a lot of deranged people in the world.

"It's a dangerous world out there," he said.

Gipson said the shooting at in Charleston, S.C. church last year that left nine members dead was the catalyst for the bill.

"It got my attention; I hope that never happened again," Gipson said of the church shooting tragedy.

William Perkins, editor of The Baptist Record, the weekly news journal of the Mississippi Baptist Convention. voiced his support for the measure.

“A sign on a door will never stop a mass murderer," Perkins said. "A trained, licensed gun owner might be able to do so. Any reasonable person would have to wonder if the outcome would have been different at Mother Emanuel Church in Charleston, S.C., if there had been at least one trained, licensed gun owner present. If Rep. Gipson’s proposal will make churches safer from attack — as counter-intuitive as that may seem to non-gun owners — then it should be considered by lawmakers.”

Gipson said some churches already have armed security, but there is no specific law addressing it. His legislation would do so and also provide churches with the same rights as a person in his home, business or vehicle. under the state's "castle doctrine" law.

The law, which went into effect July 1, 2006, allows use of deadly force in the face of imminent danger in one's home, vehicle or business.

State Rep. Kevin Horan, D-Grenada, said the legislation as written didn't define what qualifies as a church. He said he believes it should include the definition of a church under the tax code.

Gipson agreed that the definition should be included. Horan's amendment was approved.

House Judiciary A also passed:

• House Bill 572 to eliminate a statute of limitation on sexual battery. The legislation says passage of time will not bar prosecution for sexual battery. It will conform to the rape law.

The bill is supported by the Mississippi Prosecutors Association.

Mississippi Prosecutors Association President Hal Kittrell, district attorney for Jefferson Davis, Lamar, Lawrence, Marion and Pearl River counties, said his office prosecuted a serial rapist case where a victim of sexual battery collected DNA from the perpetrator, but he couldn't be prosecuted on the sexual battery charge because of the statute of limitation.

The rapist was convicted on other charges and sentenced to 149 years in prison, Kittrell said. However, it was the DNA evidence collected by the victim that helped authorities in the investigation that led to rape and other charges.

• House Bill 772 was requested by the Mississippi Supreme Court. It would allow an attorney to be appointed to represent indigent parents in Youth Court.
• House Bill 758  adds agency, commission or board to the law prohibiting a county or municipality from adopting an ordinance or regulation restricting possession, carrying, transportation, sale, transfer or ownership of firearms or ammunition.
• House Bill 783 relaxes the state's habitual offender's law. It would remove the requirement of the  maximum sentence being imposed if the prosecuting attorney, the defendant and defense counsel, agree to it. A judge would have the option to suspend any part of the sentence and place the offender on post-release supervision, meaning probation. The Mississippi Prosecutors Association supports the bill.
• House Bill 578, known as the "Mississippi See Something, Say Something Act of 2016."  The bill, authored by Gipson, provides immunity from civil and criminal liability for any person who in good faith and based on objectively reasonable suspicion, makes a report of suspicious activity or behavior to authorities.

"Unfortunately, we have seen an increase in terrorist attacks," Gipson said.

Gipson said other states have passed similar legislation.

All the bills now go to the full House. If passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor, the bills would go into effect July 1.

Contact Jimmie E. Gates at (601) 961-7212 or jgates@jackson.gannett.com. Follow @jgatesnews on Twitter.