High court ruling may spark new gun litigation

By Bill Rankin and Rhonda Cook

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The U.S. Supreme Court decision on Monday that limits local governments' ability to ban firearms is expected to spur a new wave of litigation and one of the first laws in Georgia to be challenged may be the one prohibiting firearms in places of worship.

John Monroe, an attorney with the gun rights group GeorgiaCarry.org, said his group will look for "the lowest hanging fruit," gun-control provisions in state law it believes are most vulnerable to attack.

Georgia's law that prohibits the carrying of licensed firearms into places of worship is "probably impossible to justify, even under the First Amendment,” said Monroe, whose group has successfully sued the state and several local governments over gun limits.

During the 2010 General Assembly, Georgia law was amended to specifically list places where guns are prohibited: school property, nuclear power plants, in bars without the owner’s permission, government buildings, at state mental health hospitals or in churches, temples or mosques. The same legislation, Senate Bill 308, also removed the ban on licensed firearms owners from carrying guns to "public gatherings."

Sen. Mitch Seabaugh (R-Sharpsburg), who sponsored S.B. 308, said his legislation initially allowed licensed firearms owners to carry their handguns into places of worship, with the consent of the church, temple or mosque. But that provision was removed before the bill's final passage.

"Churches are private property," he said. "I fail to understand the logic of denying private property owners the right to decide who can or who cannot carry a firearm on their property."

Seabaugh said he thinks this part of Georgia's gun law is vulnerable to a legal challenge. Otherwise, he said, "Georgia's law is not impacted tremendously by this ruling."

Joe Beasley, a deacon at the Antioch Baptist Church in Atlanta, said it would be a horrible idea to allow people to carry guns into church, comparing it to the days of the “old wild West.”

He added, “A church is a place where there is peace and love.”

Ray Newman, an ethics specialist with the Georgia Baptist Convention, said he does not oppose laws prohibiting the right of law-abiding citizens to carry concealed weapons for their own protection.

"I know churches are open and need security," said Newman, who declined to speak on behalf of the convention. "But I would think that should be left to professional security.”

Monday's high court ruling said Americans have a fundamental right to bear arms for self defense in the home. That Second Amendment right extends to state and local gun control laws, the court said in a 5-4 ruling.

But activists on both sides of the gun-control issue predicted more litigation attempting to expand the rights of gun owners to carry their licensed firearms.

“There will be a whole slew of lawsuits filed,” said Alice Johnson of Georgians for Gun Safety. “The implication for personal rights vs. community rights is something we’re still going to have to look at.”

Rep. Tim Bearden (R-Villa Rica), who has sponsored a number of bills to make Georgia gun laws less restrictive, called the ruling "a huge victory for the Second Amendment. What's so vitally important in this decision is it will be used as a spring board for people like GeorgiaCarry to challenge some of these restrictions we have had a hard time getting into court."

But in its ruling, the court's majority made it clear the decision addressing Chicago's restrictive handgun law did not leave all state and local gun control laws open to attack.

Justice Samuel Alito, writing for the majority, said that the court's ruling two years ago striking down Washington's gun-control law did not "cast doubt" on regulations that prohibited the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill or prohibited the carrying of firearms "in sensitive places" such as schools and government buildings.

"We repeat those assurances here," Alito wrote. Despite "doomsday proclamations," the court's ruling "does not imperil every law regulating firearms."

Georgia State University law professor Eric Segall said the ruling does leave open the question as to exactly what "sensitive" means, such as whether it applies to playgrounds or churches. "But I think, if anything, the ruling probably reinforces the idea that local communities can regulate guns in schools and in other places where security is paramount," he said.

Valerie Hartman Levy, president of the Metro Atlanta Million Mom March, a group affiliated with the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, agreed.

"I don't think it's the death knell for sensible gun laws," she said. "It's going to take time to shake out."

Added Monroe of GeorgiaCarry, “There are going to be more Supreme Court cases. All they’ve done is establish what the Second Amendment means, generally. They haven’t begun to develop all of the contours of it. This Second Amendment litigation is in its infancy. ... We don’t know what kinds of places that states and local governments can prevent carry.”

Sgt. Dana Pierce of the Cobb County Police Department said if licensed firearm owners are eventually allowed to carry guns into places of worship, police would respond if someone called to report suspicious behavior, such as seeing someone in church with a gun tucked in their pants.

“I don’t think we’d walk in in the middle of the service and surround the person,” Pierce said. “We’d handle the complaint at the appropriate time and place.”

And if that person had the proper permits, that would be the end of it, Pierce said. “We’re not there to second-guess why someone would carry that gun into church," he said. "We’re there to protect the public.”

.