Pastor resigns, promotes guns
- by Julie Tam, FOX 41 News
A Louisville pastor who has made national news before has resigned and shifted to a career promoting guns in church.
Dr. Ken Pagano has resigned from not only his church, New Bethel, but also his denomination, Assemblies of God. The 49-year-old has left the pulpit and kept his job as instructor at Bluegrass Indoor Range. He'll still be working with churches, just not in one.
"We live in evil times and we must be willing to confront that," Pagano said.
This summer, the former pastor encouraged people to bring their guns to an open-carry service at New Bethel Church. Now, he's formed an organization with a New York rabbi. "We've had people from Hindu and Buddhist background also share an interest in this," Pagano said.
International Security Coalition of Clergy will promote using trained, armed security personnel in houses of worship of any religion and the group will encourage worshippers to carry guns where it is legal. "I really do believe that our public schools and churches are the prime targets for terrorists, both foreign and domestic," Pagano said.
Just this year, a man shot and killed a pastor and injured two parishioners at a church in Illinois. At another Illinois church, police officers shot and killed a man they say ran in and tried to grab one of their guns. Two different scenarios, two different sides of the issue. Terry Taylor is on the opposite side from Pagano.
"The idea of essentially having a room full of armed people, I think, is actually pretty scary and can only lead to problems rather than solving problems," Taylor said. The executive director of Interfaith Paths to Peace held what he called a peaceful alternative to Pagano's open-carry service on the same day at another church, where people were told to leave their guns at home.
"I will never again attend a church unarmed," Pagano said. "And if I am asked to be unarmed, I will not attend that place of worship."
Pagano will travel to Israel next year to see how synagogues provide security. He's still a chaplain at the Louisville Metro Police Department. And he plans to apply to be a police officer.
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