Hundreds of worshippers clutching AR-15 rifles and pistols packed into a church in Pennsylvania to have their weddings blessed and their weapons celebrated as life-saving “rods of iron.”
The women wore white bridal gowns and the men wore dark suits as they gripped their unloaded weapons. Many wore crowns—some made of bullets—while church officials dressed in flowing bright pink and white garments.
Officials dressed in pink robes hold weapons during a service at World Peace and Unification Sanctuary in New Foundland, Pennsylvania in Newfoundland, PennsylvaniaDON EMMERT/AFP
A couple wearing crowns of bullets sit with their AR-15-style rifles at a blessing ceremony at the Sanctuary Church in Newfoundland, Pennsylvania.EDUARDO MUNOZ/REUTERS
A man wearing an NRA cap holds a pistol during a ceremony at the World Peace and Unification Sanctuary in Newfoundland, Pennsylvania.SPENCER PLATT/GETTY IMAGES
A man clutches a pistol during the service at the Sanctuary Church in Newfoundland, Pennsylvania.EDUARDO MUNOZ/REUTERS
The weapons were checked at the door to make sure they were unloaded, and then secured with zip ties.
A woman has her gun inspected before a ceremony at the World Peace and Unification Sanctuary in Newfoundland, Pennsylvania.SPENCER PLATT/GETTY IMAGES
An AR-15 rifle is inspected before a ceremony at the World Peace and Unification Sanctuary in Newfoundland, Pennsylvania.SPENCER PLATT/GETTY IMAGES
People attend a blessing ceremony with their AR-15-style rifles in their cases at the Sanctuary Church in Newfoundland, Pennsylvania.EDUARDO MUNOZ/REUTERS
A woman tries to take out her AR-15-style rifle out of its case during a blessing ceremony at the Sanctuary Church in Newfoundland, Pennsylvania.EDUARDO MUNOZ/REUTERS
People sit underneath pictures of weapons at the controversial church in Newfoundland, Pennsylvania.EDUARDO MUNOZ/REUTERS
World Peace and Unification Sanctuary is located in Newfoundland in the rural Pocono Mountains, about 100 miles north of Philadelphia. The controversial church is headed by the Reverend Hyung Jin Moon, son of the late Reverend Sun Myung Moon, of “Moonies” fame. The younger
