(GunReports.com) — An Atlanta federal appeals court has rejected a minister’s argument that gun carriers have a constitutional right to bring sidearms to worship services. The ruling upholds Georgia’s 2010 law that bans guns in churches, synagogues and mosques.
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the First Amendment freedom of worship argument, finding that pastor Jonathan Wilkins of the Baptist Tabernacle of Thomaston and the gun rights group GeorgiaCarry.org had not shown how the law interferred with sincerely held religious beliefs.
The lawsuit was filed after the Georgia Legislature eliminated a firearms ban at generic “public gatherings” and replaced it with a list of eight specific places. Wilkins and the president of GeorgiaCarry.org argued they were being forced to choose between their First Amendment religious freedom guarantee and the Second Amendment right to arms.
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