Proponents of the right to keep and bear arms are used to leftists making manipulative emotional claims about gun control after mass shootings. They may not be used to such efforts from the ranks of the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest association of Protestant churches in the United States which is usually associated with conservative political views.
Gun confiscation measures backed by the official Southern Baptist public policy arm failed to advance in the Tennessee legislature last summer, but a similar bill was introduced this month even as Southern Baptists voice concern about the proposals as contrary to their interests.
In the spring of last year, a woman who claimed transgender identity murdered three students and three staff members at the Covenant School, a private Christian institution located in an affluent suburb of Nashville. Some parents thereafter launched a nonprofit and lobbying group meant to “drive meaningful legislative change to ensure the safety of our children and staff in schools.” Members of the coalition soon backed a red flag law, under which judges can confiscate firearms should they see the owners as a threat to themselves or others, an effort also supported by Tennessee Republican Governor Bill Lee. Several media outlets, including evangelical publications such as Christianity Today, have highlighted the distressed parents as heroes who “hoped the elected representatives would do something to make their kids safer.”
One of the most powerful allies for the Covenant School parents has been Brent Leatherwood, a former executive director of the Tennessee Republican Party who now serves as president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. Leatherwood, himself a Covenant School parent, wrote a letter supporting the red flag law while the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission published an official brief about the bill, which would deprive citizens of gun rights without due process.
Leatherwood also drew backlash from Southern Baptists last fall when he invited reporters to a speech in which he condemned the leak of three pages from the shooter manifesto, even as the National Police Association and other interest groups filed for the public release of the document for the sake of transparency. Leatherwood claimed the individual who leaked the pages was a “viper” who needed to “repent.” Jon Whitehead, a trustee of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, confirmed to The Sentinel that Leatherwood disclosed his work as the legal representative for a group of Covenant School parents to the entity’s board.
Leatherwood has frequently faced criticism for leveraging Southern Baptist institutions to advance interests with which the denomination’s conservative churches disagree: red flag laws are indeed unpopular among the vast majority of Republicans and many independents, while Leatherwood has also been denounced for endorsing a letter two years ago recommending that state and federal lawmakers refrain from passing bills to criminalize abortion.
The red flag law ultimately failed to pass in a special session of the legislature held last summer, yet Shawn Graham, a director for Conservative Christians of Tennessee, previously said in an interview with The Sentinel that more pushes to enact red flag laws would soon come under the guise of school safety legislation. Lawmakers indeed introduced a red flag law proposal this month that would allow a police officer or an individual related to the firearm owner by “blood, marriage, or adoption” to file a petition for a risk protection order, after which a court can hold a hearing where only the accuser offers evidence. Tennessee Republican State Representatives John Gillespie and Sam Whitson are sponsors of the bill alongside four Democratic colleagues.
The Sentinel asked the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission whether they support the newly introduced version of the legislation. This article will be updated with any response.
Sarah Shoop Neumann, a founder of the lobbying group launched by Covenant School parents, appeared to speak favorably about the efforts in a statement cited by local and national media outlets. “This session we will continue to work on legislation supporting our primary goals for expanded background checks before firearms are sold, requiring safe storage particularly in unattended automobiles, and temporary transfer of firearms when a person poses a known threat to themselves or others, as well as bills to ensure school safety,” she commented.
Southern Baptists have formerly brought concerns about the direction of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission to their annual denominational meeting but voted two years ago against a motion to defund the entity. Scott Packett, a pastor at North Athens Baptist Church in Tennessee, said in comments to The Sentinel that the entity reflects the interests of neither Southern Baptist churches nor their conservative members as they call for gun control.
“Leatherwood seems to be out of touch with the majority of Southern Baptists on several issues. Although we mourn over the wickedness that took place at Covenant School in Nashville, he seems to have adopted a more liberal approach to gun control than those people he represents,” Packett remarked. “What took place was due to the sin in the heart of the shooter, and the church must speak into those matters. The issues of sexuality and gender confusion are the issues the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission need to be addressing, not lobbying for laws that take away the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens.”
