[GA] Upson guns-in-church case lands in federal court

From Georgia, comes this story of a pastor challenging the state law prohibiting carry in churches:

A minister’s fight to bring a gun to his Upson County church is now a federal case in Macon.

State and Upson County officials had the case moved to the U.S. District Court in Macon on Friday. The case garnered national news coverage when it was first filed a month ago in Upson County Superior Court by the Rev. Jonathan Wilkins of the Baptist Tabernacle of Thomaston, which is partnering with GeorgiaCarry.org Inc. on the lawsuit. Wilkins said he has a constitutional right to be armed in church, which is now prohibited under state law. ...

Read it here.

[CA] Tehama sheriff leads gun rights suit

From California:

Tehama County Sheriff Clay Parker is passionate about citizens’ rights to bear arms.

So much so, he is the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit recently filed in Sacramento by the National Rifle Association/California Rifle and Pistol Association Foundation Legal Action Project challenging state Assembly Bill 962.

When the bill was signed into law by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last year, the governor said it “requires vendors of handgun ammunition to keep a log of information on handgun ammunition sales, store ammunition in a safe and secure manner, and require the face-to-face transfer of ammunition sales.”

“The bill is too broad,” Parker said. “What is handgun ammunition? If you ask, no one could tell you. Some people may say a .357 shell is handgun ammunition, but I have a .357 rifle. This bill has to be defined better.”

This isn’t the first time Parker has taken action on the issue of firearms legislation. He took an active part in the lawsuit against Chicago’s long-standing ban on handguns, a case that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The court struck down the ban in June.

“I will continue to fight laws infringing a citizen’s right to bear arms,” Parker stated. “If a law could really do some good, okay. But when they pass laws affecting law abiding citizen’s not the criminals, that is not okay.” ...

Read the rest here.