Gun rights advocates have gained ground for Georgians to carry guns
in more and more public places in Georgia, and a federal judge on Monday
kept alive their effort to allow people to carry firearms into
churches.
If successful, the lawsuit to allow licensed gun owners to carry firearms into churches would be another victory for Georgia gun rights advocates. They have succeeded in recent years in securing rights to carry guns on MARTA, in certain bars, and in school parking lots.
U.S. District Judge C. Ashley Royal declined Monday to grant a preliminary injunction to allow guns in houses of worship, but he set deadlines for each side to submit the written arguments on which he will base his final decision.
The lawsuit was filed against the state in July in Upson County Superior Court on behalf of the Rev. Jonathan Wilkins, head of the Baptist Tabernacle of Thomaston. He wants to arm himself while working alone at the church and during services "for the protection of his flock, his family and himself," according to the lawsuit. The case has since been moved to the U.S. District Court in nearby Macon.
Wilkins partnered with gun-rights group GeorgiaCarry.org to challenge a law passed this year by the state Legislature that refined the prohibition of guns in public places. The revised law allows many private property owners, such as bar owners, to decide whether to allow guns on their premises. But it prohibits the weapons in churches and nuclear power plants. Guns are also prohibited in schools and government buildings.
Source: Atlanta Journal Constitution | Craig Schneider, Rhonda Cook and Katie Leslie
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