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http://www.mnsun.com/story.asp?city=Bloomington&story=114668
Judge finds in favor of church’s opposition to gun law
By Laura Waldon
Sun Newspapers
(Created 6/12/03 10:19:50 AM)
A Hennepin County District Court judge ruled in a temporary order last Friday that portions of the recently enacted “conceal carry†handgun law are unconstitutional, and granted an Edina church’s request to defy the statute’s signage and personal notification requirements.
However, District Court Judge Marilyn Brown Rosenbaum denied Edina Community Lutheran Church’s other request to prohibit firearms from the church’s parking facilities, according to the order filed in Hennepin County District Court.
“We’re very pleased with the release she did grant us,†said the Rev. Pamela Fickenscher, associate pastor of Edina Community Lutheran Church (ECLC), 4113 W. 54th St. “Obviously it did not give us all we asked for in the restraining order … but we think it’s a real positive step in the right direction.â€
Last month, ECLC asked the courts to declare parts of the new law unconstitutional, said the church attorney, David Lillehaug, former U.S. attorney for Minnesota. The new law took effect on May 28.
The church claimed that the Minnesota Citizens’ Personal Protection Act of 2003, also referred to as the “conceal carry†law, “violates their rights by infringing upon, controlling and interfering with, their right to worship and their freedom of conscience,†according to documents filed in Hennepin County District Court.
In order for an establishment such as the church to request that firearms not be brought into the establishment, it must prominently post a sign at every entrance containing the language that the establishment “bans guns in these premises,†according to the conceal carry law.
In addition, the requester must personally inform people who are entering the premises of the posted request, the law states.
Church officials felt that these requirements “intruded on our religious expression and on our mission on Sunday morning,†Fickenscher said. “We felt it was important for us to communicate our policy in language that matches our religious beliefs.â€
Last month, ECLC’s members voted unanimously to proceed with the lawsuit, Fickenscher said.
Following Rosenbaum’s decision, the signs that are now posted in ECLC’s front entrance and parking lot entrance read, “Blessed are the peacemakers. Firearms are prohibited in this place of sanctuary,†Lillehaug reported.
Since the lawsuit was filed, many other churches and “denominations representing several hundred congregations†have voted to join the lawsuit, Lillehaug said.
“Last week, all of the Catholic bishops voted to join the lawsuit and the statewide Methodist Conference did so also, and then the Minneapolis Area Synod of the Lutheran Church voted to join,†said Lillehaug. “So this small church in Edina is getting tremendous support.â€
In addition to the churches that oppose the law, Bloomington resident Kim Stanley is part of a group that is planning a rally against the new Minnesota law in Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s hometown of Eagan.
Stanley recently began a petition drive that is aimed at getting the law nullified.
“We’re very encouraged, both by the judge’s ruling and by the support we’ve gotten from other individuals and denominations and churches, and are very pleased with how things are proceeding so far,†Fickenscher said.
Hamline University law professor Joseph Olson, who helped draft the conceal carry legislation, has spoken out against Rosenbaum’s decision.
“She said the church doesn’t have to comply with the posting and request provisions of the law on the basis of their religious beliefs,†Olson said. “What [her decision] says is that a carefully drafted statute containing a number of compromises setting forth a clear legislative policy can be overturned at the drop of a hat. That doesn’t sound like democracy to me.
“The bill was carefully drafted, negotiated with a number of groups who cared enough to show up and participate in the process, and that carefully negotiated process should not be changed,†he said.
When Olson was asked if the conceal carry law violates churches’ rights to practice religion by imposing specific language to be used on signs banning guns, he said that the difference between the legally required language and the wording that ECLC chose to post was “95 percent the same.â€
“If there’s any infringement here, it’s infinitesimal,†he added.
Hilary Lindell Caligiuri, deputy attorney general, and Kristine Eiden, chief deputy attorney general, who argued on behalf of the state in this case, could not be reached for comment.
Although Rosenbaum’s ruling is only a “preliminary decision,†ECLC is grateful that the judge ruled “that the church could notify people of the prohibition on firearms as it saw fit,†Lillehaug said.
Lillehaug will be meeting with the leaders of the congregations and denominations that have joined the lawuit to decide how to proceed with the case, he said.
When asked if he knows how the state plans to proceed with this case, Olson responded, “Not that I’m at liberty to disclose.â€
