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December 1, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – Rev. Raphael Warnock, the Georgia Democrat running against Republican Kelly Loeffler in next month’s Senate runoff election, is under fire for a resurfaced video of a past sermon in which he mocked the idea of allowing Christians to carry guns into churches for self-defense.

In the 2014 remarks, Warnock took aim at the “bright idea” of legislation to increase the number of establishments in which Georgians would be allowed to carry concealed weapons, including churches.

“Have you ever been to a church meeting?” Warnock asked. “That’s the last place …” he trailed off and smiled as the audience laughed. “Whoever thought of that had never been to a church meeting!”

Bearing Arms noted that recent history demonstrates the rationale for such legislation. In 2017, a man walked into First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas and opened fire. Stephen Willeford, who was asleep in his home nearby, woke up to the sound of gunfire and used his AR-15 to stop the attacker from escaping. Two years later, a gunman who entered West Freeway Church of Christ, also in Texas, was stopped by armed security guard Jack Wilson.

The National Rifle Association (NRA) quickly responded with an ad contrasting Warnock’s remarks with the Wilson and Willeford cases. “Law-abiding Americans defending themselves is no laughing matter,” it said.

Warnock, who has the support of Black Lives Matter (along with Jon Ossoff, the Democrat running for Georgia’s other Senate seat against Republican David Perdue), also claims that supporting legal abortion, which he calls “reproductive justice,” is “consistent with my view as a Christian minister. And I will fight for it.”

Appointed last year to fill the seat of retiring Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson, Loeffler has repeatedly supported conservative causes since taking office, allaying initial concerns from some pro-lifers. In January, she co-signed a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo outlining a proposal to further strengthen the pro-life Mexico City Policy, and in September introduced legislation to target the federal funding of any school that forces female athletes to compete against gender-confused males.

The Georgia runoffs will decide which party controls the Senate for the next two years, and with it the ability of a Biden administration to enact longtime Democrat goals with far-reaching consequences like court-packing, elimination of the legislative filibuster, and granting statehood to Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia.