Pennsylvania church to bless couples toting AR-15 rifles
A Pennsylvania-based offshoot of the Unification Church is encouraging couples to bring their AR-15 rifles with them to a commitment ceremony in the Pocono Mountains, a half-mile from an elementary school.
World Peace and Unification Sanctuary in Newfoundland said it planned the Feb. 28 ceremony months ago, well before last week’s massacre at a Florida high school. Authorities say the alleged gunman used an AR-15 in the attack that killed 17.
Tim Elder, the Unification Sanctuary’s director of world missions, said Tuesday the church believes the AR-15 symbolizes the “rod of iron” mentioned in the Bible’s apocalyptic book of Revelation.
The church website directs couples to show up to the ceremony with an AR-15 “or equivalents such as an AK semiautomatic rifle, representing both the intent and the ability to defend one’s family, community … “