You Gotta Love Those Texans 

     Recently a man walked into a Texas church, observed the service for a time, then pulled out a shotgun and shot and fatally wounded two members of the congregation. In less time than it takes to write this sentence, two other church members pulled out handguns and shot the shooter dead. 
     When I read this I was neither shocked nor surprised that two Texas church members would be carrying firearms in church. I lived in Texas long enough to get a feel for the Texan attitude about people who are trying to kill them and what they should do about it. 
     In Texas it is legal to carry licensed firearms in a church. Outside of church, the law concerning the carrying of firearms gets even looser. The citizens have the strange idea that it is okay to shoot back if someone is shooting at them, and to have the where withal handy to accomplish that. 
     The two congregational shooters were part of a trained volunteer security force the church maintains. Having and training such a force is also legal in the state. 
      During the time I lived in Texas, one church at Christmas time, in keeping with the Christmas spirit of love and peace to all, announced that they were having a gun drive and paying $50 for every gun turned in. There never was a follow-up report on how successful they were. They were doing this in a part of the country where giving a loved one a firearm as a Christmas present is considered quite appropriate as a gesture of love and thoughtfulness. 
     Like I said, “You gotta love those Texans.”