Trunk Monkey
member
Who's self appointed? We just like to sit where we do. Neither of us has ever done a thing. And, yes, the priests know there are armed folks in the congregation but they don't know who they are. Think of it as Don't ask Don't tell.
Carrying a gun in Church is one thing. Setting yourself up as a self-appointed sheepdog over the flock is entirely different and let's be honest that's what you're doing.
If I'm ever involved in an active shooter incident at my church (assuming of course the shooting is Justified and I've acted within the church's security policy guidelines) the church's liability insurance covers me and so does their medical insurance.
If some "Lone Wolf Sheepdog" takes on an active shooter and misses or kills the active shooter the church is under no obligation to cover him under their insurance and should the shooter's surviving family decide to file a wrongful death lawsuit because "you weren't the police and it wasn't your place to execute him" you are on the hook for all your legal bills and in the astronomically unlikely event you're found liable you're also on the hook for the settlement.
Now I'm sorry if that sounds mercenary but that's the reality of the world we live in. I've told this story before but I have a friend who tried to stop a robbery in a Burger King in Miami. My friend killed the robber ( and he gets to live with that for the rest of his life) but not before the robber shot him several times. There was even a big long thread here about it when it happened. A bunch of people participating promised that they would donate money for his medical bills, not a one of them came through. And Burger King disavowed his actions entirely. He was on the hook for all his medical bills.
I know that you're going to say well you're 70 years old and you made it this far and by God you're going to do what you want to do. I'm going to say okay knock yourself out. It's your life. You make the decisions. You live with consequences.