By Aliza Flug, Senior Layout Editor and Social Media Manager
It is no secret that shul-goers across the country are attending services with more than just a siddur in their pocket. Shuls seem to have more and more members carrying firearms with them. Concerned for the safety of themselves and others, shul members feel it is necessary to bring guns with them to shul. On the one hand, they are right to be concerned. We cannot deny that antisemitism is rising worldwide and over the past decade, there have been more attacks on shuls than we can count. Though it has become crucial to have armed security at shul, allowing anyone to bring guns poses its own risks.
The obvious danger with allowing guns on shul property is the concern of an active shooter walking in. Without having thorough checks for weapons, this becomes very possible. Even though shul members who bring guns with them are likely just trying to protect others, allowing anyone to bring a gun means that non-members can slip through security unnoticed. But the less obvious danger is that someone with good intentions may not know how to respond properly in the case of an active shooter, G-d forbid, and may end up causing more harm than good. It may seem like it would be a good idea to have these trustworthy people carrying so they can protect others in an emergency situation, but these members should be required to go through both a thorough background check and rigorous training. But many shuls aren’t taking this seriously enough.
I recently came across a sign outside of a shul in Florida (where open carry just became legal) stating that open carry on its premises is not allowed. Whether or not they will say it overtly, this clearly implies that the shul did not find a problem with concealed carry. But the security risks posed by unrestricted open carry in shuls don’t go away with concealed carry. This same shul in Florida, along with many others across the country, requires bags to be checked by security upon entrance. What exactly are they looking for in talis bags when people have weapons on their body?
Lately I have been thinking about the attack on a shul in Manchester this past Yom Kippur. I wonder if lives could have been saved if congregants were carrying. But then I think about Adrian Daulby, who was killed accidentally from a police shot. If a police officer who probably had months and months of training can make a fatal mistake, how can we trust congregants who have had little to no training?
This isn’t to say that nobody on shul premises should carry. In fact, I think there are people who should carry guns: trained professionals. While firearms can provide a necessary form of self-defense, there unfortunately aren’t laws in most states that prevent them from getting in the wrong hands; currently, permitless carry is legal in more than 30 states. Security at shul has become extremely important, and while I wish that we didn’t need to feel unsafe without armed security guards, I understand that this is the unfortunate reality we live in. If anything, the attack in Manchester and synagogue attacks in years past, such as the 2018 Pittsburgh attack, remind us how important it is to have armed security. This should not, however, be an excuse for any shul member to be allowed to carry a gun. If members want to carry, they should have to go through rigorous training and background checks. Nobody should be able to just walk into a shul with a gun simply because they are deemed as trustworthy. It doesn’t matter how much you trust someone carrying a gun if they don’t know how to use it properly.
To enforce stricter gun policies, it might seem like the simple solution would be to have metal detectors at every shul, but Shabbat observance makes things more complicated. Many I have spoken to have emphasized how halachically wrong it is to go through a metal detector on Shabbat. What people fail to mention, however, are the halachic complexities that come with carrying guns on Shabbat, as some would say that guns fall into the muktzah (prohibited to move) category of kli shemelachto l’issur, something that can’t be moved on Shabbat since its main use involves violating a Shabbat prohibition. Others disagree and don’t consider a gun to be muktzah. The Shemirat Shabbat Kehilchatah (20:28) quotes Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach in saying that guns are not muktzah since their primary purpose is to scare people and to prevent someone from attacking. If that is the case, however, I find it difficult to understand why concealed carry would be allowed on Shabbat, since a gun isn’t intimidating anyone who cannot see it. Additionally, rabbis are lenient about carrying guns because they consider it to be a case of pikuach nefesh (saving a life). While firearms can of course be lifesaving, they can also be detrimental if they are used by people without training. And if this truly is a matter of pikuach nefesh, shouldn’t there be a heter (allowance) for metal detectors, as that is the most efficient way to prevent just anyone from walking into shul with a firearm?
For the past few years, I have had the opportunity to run youth groups for the Yamim Noraim (High Holidays) at my local shul. This means that I am responsible for the safety of nearly 200 children. Every year, my anxiety heightens as I get close to the chagim (holidays), and I find myself running through imaginary scenarios I wish I never had to think about. Children constantly running around shul buildings makes having guns in shul all the more dangerous. In an emergency situation, the last thing you would want is for someone who doesn’t know how to properly use a gun to pull one out in front of a child. Protecting the youth must be a priority within our communities.
While I wish that having no guns at all on shul premises could be a safe reality, I am also aware of the unfortunate truth that shuls are not always the safest places, and armed security is necessary. Of course there are so many complex variables that are factored when shuls make policies, but we must do everything we can to prevent a tragedy, and that includes preventing untrained individuals from bringing weapons into shuls. Maybe the law isn’t going to require a proper background check for gun purchases, but we can within our own communities. We don’t need another tragedy to learn that we need stronger safety precautions in shuls. Even if that means taking away the weapons we thought were protecting us.