…especially armed ones. The Denver Post reports:
A man who came to the home of two women whom he had threatened to decapitate with a knife received a blow to the head that could cost him an eye, according to Colorado Springs police.
Russell Bowman, who claims to be an atheist, threatened the women because they are Christian on Sept. 8. On Friday, he arrived at their apartment and stood in a hallway, according to a police report.
“Another resident of the apartment retrieved a shotgun and approached Bowman, who was by then walking away. The resident ordered Bowman to put the knife down,” according to the report.
Bowman refused and approached the resident, who hit him with the butt of the shotgun, injuring his eye.
I haven’t seen the official statistics, but I imagine Christian beliefs correlate with gun ownership in the U.S., mostly because both correlate with rural living.
Of course there can be crazy Christians just as there can be crazy atheists. But there is an important distinction between the two: Christianity defines a set of positive beliefs, whereas atheism does not. Regardless, freedom of conscience, including freedom of religion, implies the right to be left in peace, regardless of your views, so long as you respect the rights of others.