31 Comments
Aug 10, 2022Liked by Cameron M. Bailey

The pen is mightier than the sword - Bro Secretary is told to let the ink flow in the defence of a Brother.

The IG - has crossed swords

Any implement could be used as a weapon.

Within our ceremonies they're many dangerous activities implied, (all of these are symbolic in nature.

If we're talking actual weapons, knives, knuckle dusters, guns, pistols, they should never be brought into the lodge room and any brother should be looked at in a serious way, if found with same on them.

The WM might arrange a lecture on Gun/Rifle safety, if this is so then the lecture should be carried out in the South at refreshment time.

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Aug 10, 2022Liked by Cameron M. Bailey

I have mentioned this lately since we can't even just lock the doors during the Stated and I know there is no way our Tyler could defend himself with a sword.

I do wonder just what I would do as far as security from the inside of that west gate.

These days we could have more to look out for than cowans and eavesdroppers with our rods.

I almost would rather have the outer door locked and the Tyler invited in sooner than later.

BUT I would make sure that the west gate would slow down any intruder to protect all inside that gate.......the best that I am able.

Not sure that I would want the entire Lodge full of hand guns and a better start would be the ability to lock the main entrance door and the outer door for the Tyler too. (and I don't think he could hold onto my .50 cal. Desert Eagle either) .....well 4am......goodnight MW

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Being a Brother from the UK we never need to worry about guns coming into any of our meetings or knives. If we had to worry about guns I think our numbers would half over night. Why would anyone want to come to a Lodge night with a gun any way?

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Honestly I have pondered on this statement before. I think the offensive or defensive statement may in fact illude to checking your "bias" at the door. That said, in our jurisdiction were not allowed to carry weapons in to the lodge. However given some of the violence we're seeing towards lodges and temples, I've heard some say its better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6. If its concealed, how would any one know. I'm not going to search people. I'll leave it to their own conscience.

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Aug 10, 2022Liked by Cameron M. Bailey

This topic did come up in my lodge, due to the someone open carring in lodge when his coat qas off. It was bounced around in a stated for a while and then it got passed down to the temple board to make a policy on arms in the building as a whole. As I am the secretary for the temple board I did a rough draft to bring to the trustees of the board to vote on. In short form it basically stated that if you carry concealed or open. It has to remain concealed inside the building. No one will ask if you are carrying a arms or not. I also had to put in there that you cannot carry arms during any of the youth group functions as by there rules it is not allowed no matter what the temple board says as per the groups state guidance. So with a little tweaking on the original verbiage and some argument we passed it and have not had an issue since. Some of the brother complained that finding a concealed holster is not easy for bigger gentlemen and I pointed out that there are bags that are made to conceal carry. Recently to add to our security of the lodge so we may lock the door to get in the building and to protect the Tyler, I just had the temple board vote to purchase doorbell cameras for the two primary doors we use to get into our building. Along with cameras to put up inside and outside of the building. Now the Tyler can lock the doors and if he gets a notification on his phone he can see who needs to be let in before unlocking the door. This will also mitigate a threat that might be on the other side of the door as well for the youth groups.

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In the jurisdiction where I was raised, it was common for us to carry concealed firearms in Lodge. When I arrived in WA, I found the attitude to be quite different towards that practice. When I questioned it, I heard the same reason listed by Cameron, along with the response that you must be divested of all metals... This one is obviously very weak and almost never adhered to, and only pertains to the Rite of Destitution as it relates to the candidate, in the first degree.

The next question I was asked is, "why would you feel you need to defend yourself against your Brothers?" My answer was that I have no fear of my brothers, my concern is for those who may wish to bring harm to me and my Brothers.

In England there seems to be a different feeling about firearms than we have in the US. I can certainly respect your opinions, but also feel these opinions may be culturally appropriate for the UK, but they are not the answer for the US.

I am not a fan of openly carried firearms anywhere. In fact, I view the benefit of being around openly carried guns as, at least I know where there is a spare weapon if I should need one.

If a Brother is a responsible gun owner, then he will be trained in the safe handling and use of his weapon. He will be carrying in a concealed fashion and the only time that weapon will be presented is when the threat death or serious bodily injury is imminent. Short of this circumstance, no one in that Lodge should know a Brother has a weapon on them.

I am not sure why the opposition to a responsible person exercising their God Given right to self-defense and the defense of his circle of people is so polarizing to some.

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A few years ago we had a display team from the U S come over here they had come from different parts of the U S they all had their own ritual so had to learn a mixed one uo show us. The master had a top hat on and the Tyler sat in the door way with a wand across his legs and was inner guard as well. And the Temple was laid out in a different way different words but we all worked out who was doing what office great to watch. A fun night to have been year our province grand master and his DC came a long as well.

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Aug 10, 2022Liked by Cameron M. Bailey

“…that you should carry nothing offensive or defensive into the Lodge.”

One vector of understanding may allude to the candidate being balanced in his mental attitude and hopefully holistically mentally healthy.

“Given the fact that Lodge security is a growing issue.” I have pondered this for many years. Like some Brothers that have a concealed weapons permit, I have had a concealed weapons permit over 10 years and have never had a need to carry a piece to Lodge or any other venue. Perhaps that is because of my arrogant confidence of real life experience, military and civilian martial science training. Laws and policies mainly only change after the fact that events happen and then study, debate and then implementation of a new law or policy goes into place. This is Reactive Behavior. Why not live in a Proactive Way. I envision in the near future, “the requirement” of the Tyler position having security cameras (new tech) and requiring the Brother to be gun safety qualified. We may not see this until a violent attack happens in one of our WA Lodges.

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As another has said, this is a very polarizing topic.

We used to have WMs put their pistols in the lectern during a meeting. I have zero problems with that. I am a strong pro 2nd amendment advocate, and anyone telling me where I can and cannot legally carry will not have my patronage. This is whether I am actively carrying a firearm or not. For me, it's beyond whether I am protecting myself, it is the mindset of people that would deny me my right to self defense. If that is how they feel, then I want nothing to do with them. And yes, this includes my fraternity, or any of the other organizations I belong to.

If it's against the law for me to carry somewhere, that's fine. I may not agree with it, but as a law abiding citizen, I have to respect the law, whether I agree with it or not. Private institutions, not so much. That gun free zone sticker on your restaurant simply means I won't frequent it. I'm sure that business owner won't miss my money, but I certainly won't add to it.

Support or lack of support for the 2nd amendment to me is a litmus test for how far someone is willing to give up their other rights. Judging by today's society, seems a lot of folks are quite happy with the state controlling their lives. Remember, if you are anti 2nd amendment, you're not against guns, you're simply against private citizens owning guns. You're more than happy to give them to the government. Then you're not citizens, you're subjects.

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Aug 10, 2022Liked by Cameron M. Bailey

https://www.facebook.com/jeffcowasheriff

Here is an example that I just read from right where I live and this is where people used to tell me I live in the middle of nowhere but NOW we have this going on here.

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Aug 10, 2022Liked by Cameron M. Bailey

It’s a tough subject to bring up in the Lodges in my area. About 10-12 years ago, a member of our Lodge was bringing his materials into the Lodge, when he dropped the bag, and out flew his 9MM. Right across the Lodge room floor. It angered all who witnessed it, from those who didn’t like guns and felt that nobody should have one in the Lodge room, to those who packed, but correctly deduced that this Brother was extremely careless with his firearm. It brought up quite the controversy in the next few meetings, where some members tried to force the Worshipful Master to ban firearms in the Lodge room, to be contested by those who packed and said the reckless Brother doesn’t reflect the behavior of all who carry a firearm. Both sides then suggested the Worshipful Master take it up with the Grand Master.

Not much later, probably a year or so, this Brother who dropped his 9MM hosted a Stated Meeting which featured old-school weapons, including bows and arrows, as well as blackpowder firearms. All went well until the Brother picked up one of the pistols, capped it, and proceeded to aim it at the ceiling and fire it. I was a couple of feet away and was taking cover when he fired. Sure, it was just “snapping a cap,” but with this Brother’s track record, there was a chance there could have been a charge in that barrel. The Brethren were totally up in arms (pardon the pun) when he shot that cap, even though it was just a cap. A week later, one of the officers of the Lodge got a call from the Grand Master, who learned that someone fired a handgun in a Lodge meeting in his Lodge. The Brother receiving the call explained the whole situation to the Grand Master, who was still troubled, as the story he was told was different, that an actual pistol was fired. While things got straightened out with the Grand Master, it didn’t with the Lodge, where the members were now split along the “pry it from my cold, dead hands” crowd and the “No firearms in the Lodge room under any circumstances” crowd. Luckily, time calmed things down, and the Brother wound up being roundly chastised by both sides for his foolish behavior. The issue of firearms in the Lodge room didn’t come up again until recently, when the circumstances described here started coming into discussion, particularly when a few months ago, several of our tires were slashed in the parking lot during a Lodge meeting. And, like MW Cameron said, our Lodge building does see its share of the shady crowd, even in one case where a homeless person came into the building during a Lodge meeting and camped overnight in the 2nd floor, by the banquet hall door. (We meet on the 3rd floor and have an elevator, so we didn’t see the squatter.) The 2nd floor tenants bounced him the next morning and told us about it. And we screen the building before we close it now. All 3 floors.

It is a serious problem for most of us. We really need to give it serious thought. Should the Tyler be packing? Should we lock the front door and have provisions for a Brother to notify us, so we can send the Tyler to open the door? Should the Tyler be prepared to use his weapon to defend himself if the person requesting permission to enter is a “Cowan” with true intent to do enough harm to warrant the Tyler to use that weapon? It really brings new meaning to the ritual concerning the role of the Tyler, both in our opening and closing, as well as when we install him every year.

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Aug 11, 2022Liked by Cameron M. Bailey

In WA State, if you have a valid CPL (Concealed Pistol License) then I say that you should be welcomed - and even encouraged - to be armed. You've already been background checked by law enforcement and have a constitutional right to be armed for purposes of protecting yourself - especially given the recent SCOTUS decision NYSRPA v. Bruen.

There's plenty of goofy stuff online and Masons are being targeted by radical individuals and with violence. We should be ready to protect ourselves, our lodge and our craft. We should not be concerned with the brethren, as we have taken the obligation to not do one another personal violence...among other things.

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Aug 11, 2022Liked by Cameron M. Bailey

From a strict interpretation of the ceremonial words, I think the prohibition is strictly for the initiate and only during his ceremony. Once he has been taken and accepted and has sworn his oath, just as his cable tow is removed, so is his prohibition.

Many believe that our order is decended from the hidden enclaves of Knights Templar after the Friday 13th massacre. Their outlaw status meant that protection from king Phillip's and the Pope's men was a necessity. The Tyler was to guard against approach but we all know that if a group of kingsmen were to breach the gate past the tyler, the knight masons within wouldn't be unarmed in fighting for their lives.

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People keep pointing to the line "nothing offensive or defensive..." yet overlook the line "sharp instrument piercing your..." that apparently is already within the lodge. Or these various drawing you can find on the internet such as this one... https://i.pinimg.com/originals/7d/d9/51/7dd95157fa64f50126e520b431982d3d.jpg

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My first consideration is I willl not go where i need to carry a weapon. "Trouble is easier to stay out of rather then get out of" is an important guideline. Still, we ocassionally have a neighborhood problem with drug dealers and drug addicts. Carrying a weapon to feel better coming home is needed as I call in any suspicious activity in the nearby church parking lot including the car's license plate numbers. The downside is leaving the pistol in the car during the meeting makes it availalble to car prowlers. I ocassionally carry concealed during the meeting because I feel responsible for the pistol at all times when we are have new drug dealers in the parking lot.

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