A lot of people I’ve spoken to about the new concealed carry laws have told me that they are uncomfortable with guns and don’t feel safe when they’re around. I’ve argued that I feel the same way about Coasties on mopeds, but we can’t ban them just as we can’t ban concealed carry. People have a right to tote their gun just as much as the Ugg and Northface clad demographic has the right to zoom down Charter and almost run me over.

However, a particularly relevant counterexample has caught my eye and gotten me thinking there might be more to the argument than I think. Wisconsin’s bishops announced Monday that they urge parishioners not to bring their revolvers, rifles and pistols to mass. As reported by Channel 3000, “They want local pastors to consider that Roman Catholic teachings stress non-violent conflict resolution and Catholic churches have a long tradition of serving as sanctuaries for people fleeing violence.”

If Wisconsin bishops want guns out of church, why not take it a step further? The Roman Catholic Church claims many rights of a sovereign governing body and could theoretically issue such a ruling; it has a functioning bureaucracy and canon law already governs Catholic churches across the world. And with the current debate over priest statutory abuse raging in the US, it’s not clear that a canon law couldn’t supersede other laws. Rulings on canon law are complex and nuanced, so church higher-ups could stand a good chance of outlawing guns in their place of worship. If even the University of Wisconsin, a much less expansive body, will be able to outlaw guns in campus buildings, the Roman Catholic Church should be able to do it.

However, Wisconsin’s five state bishops have chosen, at least for now, not to go so far. It’s a strategic move and a wise one. The current concealed carry legislation is piecemeal at best, and it’s uncertain what will emerge in the following months about who will be able to bring what where. Furthermore, I suspect that such a ruling would be unpopular among church members as it is possible that the subsets of those who support organized religion and those who support gun ownership overlap considerably (read: most of my family).

Thought if it is truly the case that Wisconsin bishops want to “stress non-violent conflict resolution,” their best move would be to outlaw concealed weapons in God’s house. There are those that would argue that the Catholic Church does not, in fact, have a “long tradition” of peaceful conflict mediation, but taking key measures such as this would help ensure that such a tradition is part of the present if not part of the past. Furthermore, even though some congregants may be disgruntled by the ruling, the question effectively is, “what are they really going to do about it”? Stop being Catholic?

Visiting family in Texas, land of firearms, I’ve seen signs barring concealed weapons just about everywhere. They are not allowed in the IHOP in Greenville and they are not allowed in the First United Methodist Church of Sulphur Springs. In fact, as reported by the Baptist Standard, 10 states specifically bar concealed weapons in any religious institution, and three more have similar, but less harsh statutes. And these are not just Catholic churches but all places of worship in Arkansas, Georgia, Kansas, Lousiana, Missouri, Michigan, Wyoming and Texas. This has been accomplished for religious branches that have a less established governing body in deep South, all-red states, so it should be easy in Wisconsin.

So does my Coastie analogy stand up? In this case, no. The government does not have the right to outlaw my uncle from driving around with a rifle in his gun rack because of the nature of government. But religion is a whole different institution with a different value system. People cannot avoid being part of their government (believe me, my mom tries). But people choose their religion, and because of this, the Catholic Church of Wisconsin has the right to abolish concealed carry in their churches for whatever reason it wants.

Taking into account laws passed in other states as well as the strength of canon law, Wisconsin bishops should proceed with confidence to outlaw firearms in their churches and truly promote an environment of non-violence and sanctuary.

Taylor Nye ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in human evolutionary biology, archaeology, and Latin American studies.