FORT WORTH, Texas _ New Texas gun laws made it possible for a security team at the West Freeway Church of Christ in White Settlement to act quickly and save countless lives of worshipers on Sunday, some lawmakers said.
A gunman killed two people before a member of the congregation's security team fatally shot him.
"But there were 242 people in that sanctuary," said state Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, whose district includes the church. "More could have ... if (the security team) hadn't taken those actions."
Several lawmakers credit new laws passed in Texas for preventing a bigger tragedy. One that took effect in September allows licensed handgun owners to carry weapons into places of worship if churches don't specifically prohibit it. A 2017 law waived fees charged to private institutions, including churches, that have their own security teams.
"Following the shooting at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs in November, 2017, we have taken a number of steps to help make sure that our places of worship _ which should be a refuge from evils of the world _ are safe for all who attend," Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said this week.
State Sen. Kelly Hancock, R-North Richland Hills, shepherded the 2017 bill through the Legislature.
The overall bill reduced fees and requirements for licensing for a number of professions; church security staffs were added to the measure.
"You like to see some of the work you've done be beneficial," Hancock said. "Clearly if you talk to law enforcement, they will tell you it absolutely saved lives. Our preference would be that no lives were lost."
But Hancock said the security team was trained and knew what to do in case of a shooting.
"They saved this from being a lot worse than it could have been," he said.
State Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, was the lead author on this year's bill, which let church leaders decide whether to prevent licensed Texans carry firearms on their property by providing notice. This clarified a previous attorney general's ruling.
"The law before was clunky and confusing and it really seemed to restrict Second Amendment rights," she said Monday. "The intent of the bill was clarity _ to make sure places of worship could make the decision of whether to allow guns on the property."
Campbell offered prayers for the victims and heroes in Sunday's church shooting.
And she said the new law worked.
"This is clearly why it was passed," she said. "Evil is out there. But it's not the gun. It's the person who has control of the gun."
President Donald Trump also praised Texas gun laws in a Monday evening tweet that praised the volunteer security guard who confronted the gunman.
"Lives were saved by these heroes, and Texas laws allowing them to carry arms!" Trump said in his tweet.
Geren said he spent most of the day at the church Sunday, talking with parishioners and helping as he could.
"It's an older congregation," he said. "They believe in God and that God stopped a worse thing from happening yesterday. Those men stepped up ... trying to save other members of the congregation."
Church leaders saw a need to put a security team in place in the wake of other shootings. And the new laws passed helped them with that, he said.
"They worked," Geren said. "They absolutely worked."
State Rep. Matt Krause, R-Fort Worth, echoed the sentiment.
He said there was an uptick in churches with volunteer security forces after the 2017 law went into effect. And he said more Texans knew they could carry handguns into churches since Sept. 1.
"The Texas Legislature understood there were some weaknesses in the laws preventing law abiding Texans from protecting themselves," Krause said. "I think we saw the benefits of those recent laws taking effect."
Retiring state Rep. Jonathan Stickland, R-Bedford, continued his long-standing call for Constitutional Carry in Texas, which would let anyone who legally owns a handgun carry it openly or concealed without a permit.
"How many more would be lost if we hadn't had a good guy with a gun?" he posted on Facebook.
State Rep. Tony Tinderholt, R-Arlington, said he's sad that security teams are needed at churches.
But he said he was "grateful that a hero with a gun stopped a mass shooter six seconds into his destructive and evil acts.
"I'm proud to have supported legislation that made unregulated church security teams a possibility and even more proud of Jack Wilson, the hero who stopped the shooter."
State Rep. Nicole Collier, D-Fort Worth, was among those who praised the church's security team for its fast work in protecting fellow churchgoers.
"I welcome a special session to address the issue of gun safety," she said. "As we have seen from Amarillo, Midland-Odessa, El Paso, and other cities around Texas where there have been mass shootings in 2019, there is evidence that guns continue to make crime more violent."
State Sen. Beverly Powell, D-Fort Worth, said in a statement that elected officials must do more to protect innocent Texans. She was among those calling for a special session to address rising gun violence in this state.
On Monday, she said she would have joined those supporting Hancock's bill in 2017 if she had been in the Legislature at the time.
But she said she voted against this year's bill "because it reduces the criminal penalty for unlawfully carrying in a place of worship."
"I commend the heroic member of West Freeway Church of Christ who saved the lives of countless Texans yesterday _ he will forever be remembered for his bravery and commitment to his fellow Texans.
"As lawmakers, we must come together to address the rise in gun violence we have seen in Texas," Powell said. "Yesterday's gunman had a long criminal record, including charges of aggravated assault and possession of an illegal weapon. We must respect the second amendment while also working together to keep guns out of the hands of those who wish to do harm to Texans worshiping in a church, attending school or shopping for their children."
