Churches and schools receive new protective authority under Alabama law

The deranged have, and always will, find new ways to inflict their suffering on the world at large.

Those among us suffering from severe mental illness, and who wish to do harm to their fellow man, are an aberration of humanity’s often kind nature.  These are the maligned, perhaps through no fault of their own, and they have been responsible for many of the nation’s more tragic moments.

Worse still is the trend toward mass shootings as the final act that these killers perform.  In order to maximize their demented efforts, peaceful places such as churches and schools have been targeted inordinately, affording these miscreants an unarmed, unsuspecting gaggle of victims.

How best to prevent such atrocities from occurring has been a subject of heated debate in the United States, where the Second Amendment shall not be infringed.  Adapting the old anecdote about “good guys with guns” as the antidote for “bad guys with guns”, the State of Alabama is set to allow these vulnerable establishments to create their own police forces.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has signed legislation clearing the way for Briarwood Presbyterian Church and its affiliated school, as well as a private academy in Madison County, to establish their own police forces.

The law passed during the most recent legislative sessions permits the church, Briarwood Presbyterian School and Madison Academy in North Alabama to hire police officers who are able to make arrests if crimes are committed on their properties.

The language of the law is quite clear.

The church and schools “may appoint and employ one or more suitable persons to act as police officers to keep off intruders and prevent trespass upon and damage to the property…These persons shall be charged with all the duties and invested with all the powers of police officers, including the power of arrest for unlawful acts committed on the property,” the law states.

The new policy will be enacted in the fall, allowing designated individuals to undergo the appropriate training.