Supreme Court refuses to take up church ban on concealed weapons

The Minnesota Supreme Court said today it won't take up the state's appeal of a decision that exempts churches from the state's conceal and carry handgun law.

The action is a victory for churches that challenged the state's 2005 handgun law. That law allows residents with permits to carry concealed handguns.

By refusing to hear the state's appeal, the court let stand a ruling that said Minnesota's Constitution allows religious organizations to ban guns from their churches, parking lots, day-care centers and other buildings. It also exempts churches from following state law that specifies how facilities should post signs prohibiting guns.

The state had argued that the law did not burden churches so much that it ran afoul of the separation of church and state.

The lower court ruling disagreed.

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