Karen Swallow Prior is an author and English professor at Liberty University. She has written about carrying a gun while running, arguing that gun ownership can support the Christian call to protect innocent life.

The Rev. Frank Pomeroy is the pastor of First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. He was away from his congregation when a gunman entered the church and killed 25 people.

The Rev. Eric S.C. Manning is the pastor of Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C., the site of a 2015 mass shooting. He has served in this role since June 2016.

Dave LaRock is a Republican member of the Virginia House of Delegates. In 2018, he sponsored HB1180, which would have repealed a prohibition on carrying dangerous weapons, such as guns and knives, into houses of worship.

Beth Kissileff is an author and journalist based in Pittsburgh. She is a member of one of the congregations that meets at Tree of Life synagogue and, after the Oct. 27 shooting, shared stories about the religious lives of the victims she knew.

Balhair Singh Dulai is the president of the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, the site of a 2012 shooting that left six people dead. The temple’s website still features a tribute to victims.

Dallas Drake is co-founder of and senior researcher at the Center for Homicide Research, which compiled a database of church shootings that occurred between 1980 and 2005.

Carl Chinn offers security training for churches and other faith-based organizations. He is the author of Evil Invades Sanctuary: The Case for Security in Faith-based Organizations.

William Chadwick is a senior instructor with the Christian Security Institute, which trains houses of worship on gun safety and other security issues. He has served as a security officer in large Christian churches.