Photo: The sign outside Houston Mennonite Church. Photo by Gordon Houser. 

In late December 2015, Dave Bauchelle, a member of Houston Mennonite Church, put up a sign beside the church building’s front door that prohibits concealed and openly carried handguns.

According to Bauchelle, in a Jan. 31 interview, Texas law requires that the letters be one-inch high, in contrasting colors to the background and posted in English and Spanish. The English words are spelled out by the law; the Spanish words are not. Bauchelle said he used a translation he found online.

As of May 29, 2015, Texas lawmakers approved open carry of licensed handguns, and on June 13, 2015, Governor Abbott signed Bill 910 into law. The law went into effect on Jan. 1, and now long guns may be carried with or without a permit.

Forty-three states allow open carry of handguns, either permissive or licensed.

In an email interview on Feb. 3, Marty Troyer, pastor of Houston Mennonite Church, told about an incident from December 1980, when one of the founding members of the church was shot in the face with a gun touching his temple.

Members of Houston Mennonite observed Texas legislature debating the efficacy of open carry. Once the

law passed, they realized church facilities were not exempt from the law.

“Over and again in recent weeks we have expressed frustration at being in a culture so upside-down from our Christian values,” Troyer wrote. “Our folks are afraid about their work places—libraries, college campuses, businesses—where you may see a holstered weapon in plain sight.”

He added that there seems to be a racial component to people’s fear. “Would a small crowd of blacks or Syrian refugee residents be treated in the same way as a gun-toting group of white men?” he asked. He assumes not.

The congregation chose to put the signs up as a witness to the community and a promise to its tenants that they are concerned for their safety.

Troyer also pointed to an indirect benefit of the signs: “They are shaping us to be the kind of people who publicly say no to violence,” he wrote. “Saying no to violence is easy in the comfort of a 15-minute sermon. But hanging a massive sign on your front door is different. Perhaps doing so will help us be less ashamed of the gospel. It’s a small step we can take today to shape us to be something tomorrow that we are not.”

Troyer also pointed to a personal reason for the need for such a sign. He said he is concerned for the safety of his kids. “History and experience plainly illustrate we’re all safer without guns,” he wrote. “My theology is built on that foundation.”