Texas Governor Greg Abbott awarded Jack Wilson, the hero who stopped the church shooting last month near Forth Worth, with the prestigious Governor’s Medal of Courage for his heroic actions.
On December 29, an armed man opened fire on churchgoers at the West Freeway Church of Christ in White Settlement, Texas, for approximately five seconds before being neutralized by Wilson, who used a handgun he was carrying to stop the attacker.
“When faced with an evil that few of us will ever comprehend, Jack Wilson responded with strength, bravery, and with love for those in the church that day,” Abbott said in a statement. “The courage in his actions cannot be understated, and Jack is not only a hero to West Freeway Church of Christ — he is a hero to the entire State of Texas.”
“So many lives were saved because of Jack Wilson’s quick action, his calmness under pressure, and above all else his courage and his willingness to risk his own life to save the lives of others,” Abbott said before giving the award to Wilson. “Only God knows who is alive today because of Jack Wilson.”
WATCH:
Today I presented the Governor’s Medal of Courage to Jack Wilson.
He’s the hero who risked his life to save the lives of others by stopping a gunman in a deadly shooting at a church near Fort Worth.
It’s the highest award given to civilians in Texas. #txlege pic.twitter.com/UPaWjmsjTi
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) January 13, 2020
Last September, 2020 Democratic Party presidential candidate Joe Biden attacked Abbott for allowing churchgoers to carry weapons with them in places of worship so they can defend themselves from attackers.
“Dealing with firearms, it is irrational, with all due respect to the governor of Texas, irrational what they are doing,” Biden told reporters on September 2. “On the very day you see a mass shooting … and we’re talking about loosening access to have guns, to be able to take them into places of worship, it’s just absolutely irrational. It’s totally irrational.”
The new laws that went in place in Texas last year include:
- Allow licensed gun owners to have their firearms in their cars on school property
- Allow for school districts to have more school marshals
- Allow for some foster homes to be able to have firearms
- Ban homeowners or landlords of rental property from prohibiting residents from having firearms
- Prohibit residents from being charged with a crime for carrying a handgun during a disaster
- Allow people to carry weapons in places of worship
Other Democrats responded to Wilson’s heroic actions by attacking the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens.
Earlier this month, Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren responded to Wilson’s heroic actions by announcing that she would not support laws that make it easier for law-abiding citizens to carry weapons to protect themselves and others.
“Will you support a universal conceal carry law for everyone in the country who’s willing to be licensed and checked by the government?” Warren was asked at a town hall even.
“No,” Warren responded as she repeatedly shook her head.
Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg, an anti-gun extremist, responded to Wilson’s heroic actions by essentially saying that Wilson should not have been the one who took out the shooter.
“It may be true — I wasn’t there; I don’t know the facts — that somebody in the congregation had their own gun and killed the person who murdered two other people, but it’s the job of law enforcement to have guns and to decide when to shoot,” Bloomberg said. “You just do not want the average citizen carrying a gun in a crowded place.”