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Court Refuses Preliminary Injunction Against Georgia's Ban On Guns In Churches

By Howard M. Friedman

On June 4 this year, Georgia's governor signed S.B. 308 that was enacted to clarify Georgia's gun laws. Among other things, the new law prohibits the carrying of guns in any house of worship. In July, GeorgiaCarry.org. along with Baptist Tabernacle of Thomaston, Georgia, its pastor and one of its members, filed a lawsuit in state court challenging that portion of the law. (See prior posting.) Along with the complaint, plaintiffs filed a motion for a preliminary injunction. Earlier this month, defendants removed the case to federal court. According to the Atlanta Constitution, the federal court yesterday refused to issue a preliminary injunction against enforcement of the ban. Plaintiffs say that worshipers want to arm themselves for protection, and the church agrees that they should be able to do so. Another argument being pressed by plaintiffs is that under the statute, the church's pastor is barred from bringing a weapon for protection when he is working alone or when he is in the pulpit. The suit raises both free exercise and Second Amendment challenges, and is probably the first suit filed after the U.S. Supreme Court in June in McDonald v. City of Chicago extended Second Amendment to state and local laws.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on August 24, 2010 (boomark / email).