Congratulations to this week’s Comment Contest winner – Beth.

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What is it about firearms that causes otherwise rational people to lose all common sense? That’s the question I asked myself this morning when I read the following article.

Court considers Georgia ban on guns in churches

ATLANTA — There’s a legal battle brewing in Georgia over whether licensed gun owners should be allowed to carry firearms to churches, synagogues, mosques and other places of worship after state lawmakers banned them from doing so last year.

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta heard arguments Thursday on a lawsuit brought by the central Georgia church and gun rights group GeorgiaCarry.org claiming that the law violates their constitutionally protected religious freedoms. State lawyers said it was a small price to pay to allow other worshippers [sic] to pray without fearing for the safety. The panel of judges roundly criticized the suit after hearing oral arguments but didn’t immediately make a ruling.

Georgia is one of a handful of states with the restrictions — court papers say Arkansas, Mississippi and North Dakota have also adopted similar laws — and court observers, religious leaders and Second Amendment groups are closely watching the outcome of this case.

If Thursday’s arguments are any indication, the challengers are facing a tough fight. All three judges on the panel raised technical legal concerns about the lawsuit targeting the 2010 law that banned people from carrying weapons into houses of worship.

Click Here to read the rest of the article.

First of all, why in the world are those challenging the law claiming some religious right to carry a firearm in church? No such right exists nor is one needed. We each have a natural or God-given right to protect ourselves by any means necessary and that includes carrying firearms. It’s a right the Founders thought so important they enshrined it in the Second Amendment and the right does not end when we step through the doors of a church or anywhere else.

State lawyers claim the statewide restriction is designed to allow folks to worship “without fearing for their safety.” Do these lawyers imagine some wacko with a grudge and a gun and a thirst for blood is going to care that bringing his firearm into a church is illegal? Do they really think the perp will worry about being charged with bringing a gun into a church after committing multiple murders? Exactly how stupid are these lawyers? The  fact is that ONLY if there are worshipers with firearms does the congregation stand any chance of stopping the lunatic before he or she runs out of ammunition.

If a congregation wants to leave themselves unprotected and votes to ban firearms in their church, that is their right. Those who disagree are free to leave that church and find another. Frankly, I would pray much more comfortably knowing many fellow worshipers have my back, so to speak.

It’s clear the Court of Appeals is not inclined to lift the ban. They will, no doubt, find some way to dance around the issue. But the fact is that the law is unconstitutional on it’s face. It is a clear violation of the right of Georgia citizens to protect themselves. I can only hope that at some point before the next maniac decides to shoot up a church or synagog that enough folks come to their senses in Georgia and other other states and repeal these crazy laws.

And if they won’t do it for themselves, they should do it for the children, because if it saves just one young life, it’s worth it.

Right?

What are your thoughts on the issue.

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