ATLANTA, Georgia - September 5, 2010 - As it is legal in Georgia to carry a gun only in a church parking lot - not in the church - some supporters of bearing arms are working to have that law changed.
The Baptist Tabernacle of Thomaston and GeorgiaCarry.org asked for an injunction to bar enforcement of a law that bans guns in churches. But Jerry Henry, who heads the gun-rights advocacy group, reports that "the judge would not grant the injunction, but he did say that he would move forth with the lawsuit, which was, in our mind, a good idea."
Henry explains that the problem is the church does not have private property rights like an individual does.
"If you come to my property and have a gun, and I tell you I don't want it on there, then you have to leave. The church doesn't have that option," he laments. "The church is off limits, and if you carry there, you will be arrested."
The GeorgiaCarry.org executive director notes there are churches that will not tolerate weapons in their facilities, but his group feels the church "should have the opportunity to say, 'We want guns,' 'we don't want guns' or 'we don't really care whether you have guns.'"
He contends the Georgia law prevents churches that are on limited budgets and cannot afford to hire security from protecting themselves, unless a church member happens to be a peace officer or meets the requirements of several other exemptions from the law.
"The preacher can't carry a gun to the church with him to work late at night to protect himself on the way home," Henry adds.
He thinks lawmakers seem to have forgotten incidents in which gunmen have entered houses of worship and killed people, including "Martin Luther King's mother, [who] was shot in a church here in Atlanta."
A date has not yet been set for the court hearing.
