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Christian Coalition: Supports guns-in-churches bill, neutral on Sunday stadium sales of beer

Wednesday, March 5, 2008, 09:08 AM

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

At one and the same time, Jim Beck has been a busy — and not so busy fellow.

Beck is leader of the Georgia Christian Coalition. (Not the Georgia Christian Alliance — that’s Sadie Fields.)

Beck’s group has taken two intriguing positions on legislation making its way through the state Capitol. The Christian Coalition supports H.B. 89, the gun bill that would expand the places where you can carry concealed. Churches, for instance.

At the same time, Beck has declared his group’s neutrality on S.B. 454, the measure to permit the Sunday sales of beer and such at a new Braves minor league stadium in Gwinnett County.

Let’s take the gun bill first. Beck points out that the legislation has an opt-out provision — churches, like other private property owners, can still ban firearms from their premises if they want.

But the Christian Coalition leader also said that many of the state’s megachurches would like the option of using their congregants as an informal security force.

“The limit, frankly, on a lot of this will be the church’s insurance policy,” Beck said.

The legislation could also have a deterrent effect. Houses of worship — synagogues in particular — have been targeted in part, he said, because ne’er-do-wells conceive of them as unarmed havens of passivity.

“We think the good [in H.B. 89] outweighs the bad,” Beck said.

What the Christian Coalition leader thinks on that particular bill may be moot. The measure, sponsored by state Rep. Tim Bearden (R-Villa Rica), is locked in a House-Senate conference committee, as a result of an ongoing feud between the state Senate and the National Rifle Association.

But S.B. 454 is guaranteed to move — given that it carries the signature of Senate Rules Chairman Don Balfour (R-Snellville).

Beck’s logic for not opposing the Sunday sales bill in Gwinnett is twofold. First, it’s a matter of realpolitik.

As Clint Eastwood once said, a lobbyist has got to know his limitations. And Beck realizes he’s got no chance of stopping this one.

The Senate has passed the bill. The House is likely to send it back with a provision that permits grocery and convenience stores to sell beer and wine on the Christian Sabbath. Which means the final version will be the result of a deal cut by Gov. Sonny Perdue, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, and House Speaker Glenn Richardson.

“I’m realistic about the weight the Christian Coalition has when it comes to influencing the three most powerful people in the state,” Beck said.

Secondly, while admitting that drinking on Sunday is “problematic” from a religious viewpoint, Beck draws a public policy distinction between Sunday alcohol consumption in a stadium and buying a case of wine or beer from a grocery store.

Public operations such as stadiums or restaurants have an legal interest in making sure their customers don’t get drunk, Beck said.

“The Braves will be very interested in your behavior. They’re going to be interested in not overserving you,” he noted.

All that said, Beck said the Christian Coalition would have to rethink its position if a broader Sunday sales provision were included in the final version.