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Court Of Appeals Considering Gun Law Challenge

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Nov 9, 2007 9:46 am US/Central

Court Of Appeals Considering Gun Law Challenge

ST. PAUL (AP) ― The Minnesota Court of Appeals is considering whether the state law allowing citizens to carry concealed handguns with a proper permit places an undue burden on churches and infringes on their property rights.
  
The state is appealing a Hennepin County District Court ruling that struck down parts of the state's 2005 concealed-carry law, which requires authorities to issue handgun permits to citizens who pass background checks and take the required safety course.
  
Edina Community Lutheran Church and Unity Church of St. Paul are seeking a religious exemption.
  
Assistant Attorney General Pete Marker urged a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals to uphold the law during oral arguments Thursday.
  
David Lillehaug, a former, U.S. attorney now in private practice, said on behalf of the churches that the court must answer two questions: whether the government can force religious institutions to allow guns on their property and whether the government may carve out exceptions to the law allowing handguns.
  
Judges Terri Stoneburner, Jill Flaskamp Holbrooks and David Minge gave no indication of when they would rule.


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