Hero of Texas shooting: Firearms not to blame, it’s a person issue

People outside of Texas might not readily recognize the names of Donna Campbell and Jack Wilson, but for hundreds of congregants of a church near Fort Worth, their life-saving deeds will never be forgotten.

Last September, Campbell, a physician who was elected a state senator in 2012, filed Senate Bill 535. The measure clarified an existing statute and allowed armed security guards and licensed handgun owners to bring guns into churches unless the church opposed them from doing so.

Campbell explained that the existing statute was “confusing and clunky” when it comes to clearly stating the rights of licensed Texans to carry on the premises of a church and that it was the legislature’s intent to treat churches in the same manner as other privately owned establishments in Texas. Seven states and D.C. require the permission of a church leader to conceal carry firearms in church, and in 41 states, carry in churches is treated the same as any other private property. Only Louisiana and Nebraska outright prohibit carrying into a church.

Texas law allows churches to prohibit firearms on the premises, as long as they notify the public through the proper channels. The Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth, for instance, prohibits firearms in its churches, schools and other facilities, but the diocese does use an enhanced security plan, ranging from electronic surveillance to staff and volunteers trained in proper security to hiring off-duty police and well-vetted and well trained lay individuals.

No one could have imagined the impact that Senate Bill 535 would have less than four months after being passed in the Texas legislature. On Dec. 29, 2019, a gunman entered the West Freeway Church of Christ and quickly killed two of the 240 people present. One victim, Deacon Anton “Tony” Wallace, was serving communion when he was shot. Wilson, head of the church security team and an expert with firearms, immediately responded by firing his own gun and eliminating the threat. The entire ordeal lasted six seconds.

Regardless of any law, the gunman, a former boxer with a criminal history in multiple states, would have stormed into the church, but had it not been for the new legislation, Wilson wouldn’t have been armed and been able to stop the shooter. Considering the gunman still had seven live rounds in his gun and more in his pocket, it’s likely that the carnage would have continued before law enforcement arrived.

Wilson has an extensive background. He spent six years in the Texas Army National Guard, 30 years in the Department of Defense, and for the past 21 years he’s been training people in his own academy on how to accurately use a firearm.

Later that day, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick lauded the quick reactions of the church’s “well-trained” security team, calling their heroism “unparalleled.” And last week, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott awarded Wilson with the prestigious Governor’s Medal of Courage for his heroic actions.

President Trump also thanked Wilson for taking out the “crazed shooter” and preventing additional deaths.

“If it were not for the fact that there were people inside of the church that were both armed, and highly proficient in using their weapon, the end result would have been catastrophic,” Trump tweeted.

Wilson doesn’t consider himself a hero.

“My role is more of a protector for anyone who happens to be in the congregation,” he explained. “Evil exists in multiple facets all over the country, all over the world and we have to address that.”

Many on the left, including Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg, oppose armed civilians and believe that only police should carry guns. Immediately after the church shooting, Bloomberg admitted he wasn’t there and didn’t know the facts but opined that it’s the job of law enforcement to have guns and to decide when to shoot and that he opposes an average citizen carrying a gun in a crowded place.

Wilson disagrees, explaining that it’s not a firearms issue but the person behind the gun who’s either good or evil. He believes that preparation is key for those who decide to arm themselves.

“You have to be prepared at all times, at all places,” he said. “And that’s what I strive, that’s the way I teach, that’s the way I want people to understand if they are going to wear a firearm for personal protection for themselves, or family, or anyone else they need to be aware that it can happen anytime, anywhere.”

The Texas church shooting is real world. We now live in an environment where criminals charged with unlawful possession of a firearm have increased 23 percent.

The Texas church shooting shows that Americans are capable of maintaining a firearm and using it for their self-defense and defense of others.

It’s hypocritical that the same politicians we hear railing against the Second Amendment employ armed security for their own protection every day.

By Jim Zbick | tneditor@tnonline.com