Churches in Kentucky and upstate New York are giving away guns to draw people in to hear religious and 2^nd Amendment messages, the Los Angeles Times reports. The churches are hoping the free raffles will draw people in to hear about Jesus.
 
John Koletas, pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Troy, N.Y., told the Albany Time Union, “I’m just trying to be a blessing and a help to the gun owners and the hunters and give away a free AR-15. It’s the right thing to do.”
 
In Kentucky, gun giveaways are more frequent. A free raffle of 15 guns at Paducah’s Lone Oak First Baptist Church got about 1,300 people into the church hall. Gun fancier Churck McAlister spoke at the event, saying, “There’s no government on the face of this Earth that has the right to take this gun from me.”
 
Sunday school teacher David Keele told NPR the church was accomplishing two things: “One, we're going to talk about the 2nd Amendment to bear arms. But that isn't the primary thing. The primary thing is who Jesus is." Bibles are also alongside the display of donated guns — but, as NPR pointed out, unlike the guns, the bibles weren’t free — they’re for sale.