Pastor Matt Brooks, the lead pastor at the LifePoint Church in Albertville, Alabama, has expressed his opposition towards proposed legislation that would ban guns in churches.

In an article at WaayTV, the pastor suggested that each church can make its own decision on the issue. "Each individual church should be responsible for determining that themselves. I don't think we need State government to determine whether or not we can have guns in a church or not," he said.

Pastor Brooks indicated that there are several armed guards during his own church services. "I hope it never comes to a situation where we have to use our weapons, we never want to take lives from anybody. But we do want to be able to protect our congregation," he said.

Earlier last week, Thomas Jackson and Darrio Selma, two Democratic members from Alabama's House of Representatives, sponsored a bill banning the carrying of guns in a church even with a permit.

Jackson shared his belief that churchgoers should not have to worry about the presence of guns in a church. He admitted, however, that the bill is unlikely to pass but he would at least like to spark conversation regarding the issue.

Other local representatives have already voiced their opposition towards the proposed bill. In an interview with WaayTV 31, they expressed their belief that there is no chance the bill, as currently constructed, will pass.

Representative Randy Wood added that he would do his due diligence in researching the proposal but expressed similar opposition.

He said that guns might be necessary for security in a church, in the same way it is needed in other public locations. In an article at Alabama Local News, he said, "It's like your car insurance. You've got it hoping you never have to use it."