Judge issues restraining order in church challenge to gun law

The Brainerd Daily Dispatch ^ | Saturday, June 7, 2003 | TRAVIS REED - Associated Press

[yonif]

MINNEAPOLIS -- More than a dozen churches won't have to comply with parts of the state's new concealed-carry gun law after a Hennepin County District judge issued a temporary restraining order on Friday.

Edina Community Lutheran Church filed a lawsuit May 20, claiming notification requirements in the law were an unconstitutional infringement of religious freedom.

The law required churches to both post signs -- which were described in great detail -- and verbally inform parishioners at the door that pistols were prohibited.

Judge Marilyn Brown Rosenbaum granted the church's request for a temporary restraining order against the signage and personal notification requirements. But Rosenbaum denied their request for similar orders that would enable the church to restrict guns in its parking lot and nearby buildings.

"This is the legal equivalent of a blue moon," said David Lillehaug, the church's attorney. "It's not very often that a judge in the early stages finds a law unconstitutional."

Lillehaug, a former U.S. attorney for Minnesota, said the ruling means the numerous churches now involved in the lawsuit may notify people as they see fit, with either a sign or verbal notification.

So far, 30 individual churches and four denominations in the state support the lawsuit. However, Friday's ruling applies only to those listed as plaintiffs, which includes 12 churches besides Edina Lutheran and the state's Episcopalian diocese.

On Wednesday, the state's Roman Catholic bishops voted to participate. The vote covered the archdioceses of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Crookston, Duluth, New Ulm. St. Cloud and Winona.

Lillehaug said he'll meet with officials from the other churches and file paperwork soon that he hoped would extend the judge's order to their congregations.

Lillehaug said it's too early to tell how the ruling will affect businesses and other entities that want to ban handguns on their property. But he said he'd be surprised if the law didn't prompt more litigation.

"There is enormous concern and anguish about this law," Lillehaug said.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty issued a statement supporting the judge's decision, which effectively changes the gun law in the same way a last-minute amendment Pawlenty and Republican leaders pursued would have. He said he hoped a permanent change would be addressed in the next legislative session.

Lillehaug criticized legislators for not making the change before the law took effect.

[Queen of Excelsior]

Lillehaug should have criticized Democrat legislators because the Republicans wanted to amend the language to the law pertaining to this issue and the Dems voted aggainst it. They are hoping the courts will overturn the
entire law. Note this ruling only pertained to signage and they did not get what they wanted on actually forbidding guns in the parking lot or surrounding buildings.

[cake_crumb]

This isn't so much a 'win' for the anti-gun types as spin from the anti-gun groups who need to bend public opinion to fit their rhetoric : ARMED CITIZENS BAD. TOTAL GOVERNMENT CONTROL GOOD.

[toddst]

Note this ruling only pertained to signage and they did not get what they wanted on actually forbidding guns in the parking lot or surrounding buildings.

Does the Minn. law say that one is NOT in violation if he/she is found to be carrying in a location that posts "no guns" and leaves when asked to do so?

[niteowl77]

Greater Minneapolis Lutherans, huh? It figures. I got this crap forwarded to my e-mail today, and it is from the same lot:

(begin)
The newsletter from Peaceful Ends through Peaceful Means came out while I was engrossed in the ELCA delegation's visits in Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Here then is an update from the Peaceful Ends through Peaceful Means: A Christian Witness for Peace in Israel and Palestine, highlighting the messages of accompaniers. The four American accompaniers described here arrived home this week and meeting in Washington, D.C., today. Pray for their reentry into their home communities and the good work the can do as witnesses in this country.

Peaceful Ends through Peaceful Means supports Palestinians and Israelis who are working for peace, by mobilizing congregations and church members to become peacemakers and advocates for ending Israel's occupation of Palestine. The web site is www.pepm.org.

NEWSLETTER Volume 2, Issue 3 May 19, 2003

MESSAGES AND PHOTOS FROM U.S. ACCOMPANIERS

The four U.S. participants in the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) have sent messages and photos of their experiences as accompaniers. They are available on the PEPM web site:
www.pepm.org/EAPPI/MessagesMarch-May2003.html.

Please keep these four people in your prayers as they provide witness and support for peaceful efforts toward a just and durable solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Here are some excerpts from their messages:

Lynne from Minnesota was working in Ramallah. In her May 3 report, she writes: "A grandmother was sharing with me that her family home is very near the Arafat compound in Ramallah - the site of much shooting and demolishing of buildings. One time, as this was in progress, they went underneath their staircase - the most safe place the grandmother could think of as it was away from the windows.

As she sat on the floor with her eleven-year-old granddaughter on her lap, the granddaughter was trembling and crying as she said, `Grandma, I'm afraid of fear.' Remember the children! Pray for the children!"

Ken from Connecticut worked in Zababdeh. He writes: "There are no police in the northern West Bank town of Zababdeh. Where is the Mayor or the court for 3,000 people? A week ago when I first came I was afraid of being robbed as I walked down a dark street by myself. Not now. How do they so peacefully manage the town? I began to understand on Sunday when we went to the large Catholic Church that was overflowing even with extra chairs at every pew. A Melkite priest, whose church was being rebuilt, shared in the celebration of the Mass. After worship, at the Church Council, I asked if there were any concerns with the Muslim minority. "We need each other. We don't need enemies." A youth said, "As a Christian, I love them.""

Joel from Tennessee was also in Zababdeh. He reports: "It would take us some 30 minutes to reach a destination that should take eight. But we made it, "Thanks be to God." With these words a Palestinian passenger reminded me to be thankful for what was accomplished, even though my attitude was more attuned to complaining and anger right now. He was right. Thanks be to God.

"My two teammates and I were in the village of Silat Al Harithiya, 8km northwest of Jenin. We were with Magdi, a physiotherapist based in Jenin who travels daily to area villages to visit children with cerebral palsy. One of us will join him regularly in the weeks ahead. Magdi explained that he is never certain he will be able to make it past the Israeli military to see these young people and their families who need his expertise. Because of the uncertainty and stress of travel in this oppressive and risk-filled atmosphere, Palestinians like Magdi feel as if they've experienced a full, hard day before they even arrive at work. And then, of course, these ordinary people go about their work during the day wondering what the return journey home will be like-or if they will even be able to get home. It is an intense form of stress Americans may not be able to comprehend."

Aaron from California was working in Bethlehem. In his Easter message he shared: "Yesterday I imagined that millions must have been praying at once, because of the Passover holiday, Good Friday, and Friday prayers for Muslims here in Jerusalem. Let's hope we're praying for the same thing. Despite the situation there are still some internationals visiting to participate in the Western Holy Week. Ironically many Palestinian Christians living in the Holy Land could not come to Jerusalem to participate. A lot of Palestinian towns are facing tight closures and curfews now because of the high alerts for Passover. Last Sunday, members of the Bethlehem International Center (the ones that were able to get permits) went to Jerusalem to participate in the Palm Sunday Procession from Bethany to the Old City. For many of them, it has been years since they've been to Jerusalem, and they were excited to be able to go. It's a shame that the most Holy place for Christians, only 15 minutes away, is so difficult to visit for Palestinian Christians living in Bethlehem.

"I was glad to do the Via Dolorosa (the Way of the Cross) and the burial procession at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre yesterday. I still keep thinking of Rachel Corrie, and now two others shot by Israeli soldiers in the face and head, when I think of the Way of the Cross. Let's not keep silent about her death and her hope for change here, like the disciples did in Mark about Jesus' death and Resurrection."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The mission of the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI), an initiative of the World Council of Churches, is to accompany Palestinians and Israelis in their non-violent actions and concerted advocacy efforts to end the illegal occupation of Palestine. Participants in the programme monitor and report violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, support acts of non-violent resistance alongside local Christian and Muslim Palestinians and Israeli peace activists, offer protection through non-violent presence, engage in public policy advocacy and, in general, stand in solidarity with the churches and all those struggling against the occupation.

"Peaceful Ends through Peaceful Means" (www.pepm.org) seeks to facilitate the participation of Christians and others from the United States to serve as accompaniers in the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI). Application forms are available at the web site:
www.pepm.org/accompaniment.html or write to: EAPPI, c/o Lutheran Office for Governmental Affairs
122 C Street, NW, Suite 125
Washington, DC 20001.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Peaceful Ends through Peaceful Means: A Christian Witness for Peace in Israel and Palestine" supports Palestinians and Israelis who are working for peace, by mobilizing congregations and church members to become peacemakers and advocates for ending Israel's occupation of Palestine.

Together we will help build a just and secure peace for both Israel and Palestine.

The initiative obtains public policy direction from Churches for Middle East Peace, and is a national coalition participant in the World Council of Churches campaign, "End the Illegal Occupation of Palestine, Support a Just Peace in the Middle East."

Organizations wanting to become sponsors of Peaceful Ends through Peaceful Means may obtain a sponsorship form at the PEPM web site - www.pepm.org.

"One day we must come to see that peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek but a means by which we arrive at that goal. We must pursue peaceful ends through peacefulmeans." -- from "Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?" by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

---- ---- ---- ----

If you have received this bulletin directly from us, it is because you subscribed to the ELCA Middle East Networking List. Please forward this bulletin to others who are interested in a just peace for Palestine and Israel.

To Join (or Leave) this List, go to www.elca.org/middleeast.

Ann Hafften
Coordinator for Middle East Networking
Division for Global Mission, ELCA
www.elca.org/middleeast
800-638-3522, ext. 6466

THEN, I received this one, which was equally "spiritual":

UPCOMING EVENTS

* Saturday 7 June, 10 am. "Israel's Secret Weapon," the BBC documentary film on Israel's weapons of mass destruction and whistle-blower Mordechai Vanunu, the Israeli technician who is nearing the end of an 18-year jail term as a political prisoner. Mary and Nick Eoloff of St. Paul, who legally adopted Vanunu and appear in the film, will be present. Point of France Condominiums community room, 6566 France Av. S., Edina (2 blocks south of Hwy. 62).

* Sunday 8 June, 3 pm. "Pursuing a Just Peace in the Holy Land: Special Call to Christians, There and Here." The Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb, pastor of Christmas Lutheran Church, Bethlehem, Palestine, will speak. Informal reception follows at 4. Freewill donation for distance-learning program of Palestinian Lutheran schools, to connect students and teachers electronically during closures by Israeli military. At St. Stephen Lutheran, 84th & France, Bloomington.

Hope to see many of you at one or both of these weekend events.
(end)

Whew! So there is a sample of what a Lutheran (ELCA) church is supporting. Rachel Corrie, indeed! Let me assure everyone that even though the above relates specifically to the continuing ELCA infatuation with Islamists, it is symptomatic of the extent to which mainstream Protestantism has been co-opted by an increasingly liberal hierarchy. This bunch doesn't like guns ON OR OFF church property, and some congregations have been told by their "shepherds" that firearms ownership is contraindicated by Jesus Christ. I guess that unless they are in the hands of responsible people like Kofi Annan (and by extention the Palestinian Authority), guns are the devil's tools.

[Atlas Sneezed]

Let me get this straight:

Before this law, any private property owner, with or without signage, has the right to ask those carrying guns (or Tickle-me-Elmo dolls) to leave. If a visitor refuses when asked, he becomes a trespasser, and subject to criminal sanction.

The new Minnesota statute means that places open to the public can not ask gun carriers to leave (and invoke trespassing laws), unless there is a statutory sign posted.

Private property closed to the public (like homes) does not require a sign to give the owner a right to expel gun carriers.

The Churches want to be treated like homes, and not like stores, so that they can require gun carriers to leave, even if they had not posted a sign.

Do I have this right? Don't churches already have the right to eject people for any other innocuous reason (like the color of one's shirt, but not the color of one's skin)?

Or does this injunction make it criminal to bring a gun into such an unsigned church, even if one was willing to leave when asked to? (If so, this is corrupt judicial legislation of new criminal laws.)

[Atlas Sneezed]

Bang

[Atlas Sneezed]

"The law required churches to ... post signs"

No it didn't. It simply denies the right to eject lawful gun carriers if the church exercises its freeodm not to post such a sign.

[supercat]

No it didn't. It simply denies the right to eject lawful gun carriers if the church exercises its freeodm not to post such a sign.

Why shouldn't the churches have the right to eject anyone for any reason?

[Atlas Sneezed]

"Why shouldn't the churches have the right to eject anyone for any reason?"

I agree that they should. As long as the act of violating a church rule isn't enforced by the government.

Should a church be able to kick out all blacks?

[Travis McGee]

I'd feel free to walk armed into any church with no sign. That's how I'd read this.

[toddst]

I'd feel free to walk armed into any church with no sign. That's how I'd read this.

Folks in Minn. need to sort this out, understand what the consequences are if they enter a church or other building having a "no guns" sign and are discovered to be carrying.

In Kentucky our CCW law simply requires we leave the building if asked. We are only in trouble if we refuse to leave the premises.

[Travis McGee]

I read it that these churches are saying they don't need a sign to have a no-guns policy. I'd say balls to that, and go in anyway, if there's no sign visible.