Clergy defy state in battle over guns

Almost three dozen Utah church leaders say they intend to ignore a new law that requires them to register with the state in order to ban weapons from their houses of worship — underlining a tug-of-war between the U.S. Constitution's First and Second amendments.

"Guns have no place in holy spaces. We do not need the state of Utah to give us permission to make such a statement or hold such a position," says a joint statement signed by 32 area religious leaders that will be formally released today. "We will not register with the state of Utah any of our parishes, synagogues, meetinghouses, chapels or any other holy space we preserve for the good of God's world and all of God's people."

Among those who have signed the document are Utah's Episcopal bishop, the Right Rev. Carolyn Tanner Irish; the Most Rev. George Niederauer, bishop of the Roman Catholic Church's Salt Lake Diocese; Rabbis Tracee Rosen of Congregation Kol Ami and Joshua Aaronsen of Temple Har Shalom; and the Rev. David Henry, a Presbyterian minister from Park City.

Most of the 32 will gather today for a 3 p.m. press conference at All Saints Episcopal Church, 1710 S. Foothill Drive (2100 East) to publicly state their position, said the Rev. Dan Webster, spokesman for the Episcopal Diocese of Utah.

And the religious leaders plan to post a copy of their joint statement on their respective houses of worship, he said.

The church leaders believe the state has no jurisdiction over their decision to ban concealed-weapons permit holders from carrying guns into their religious buildings — a right they believe is protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, Webster said.

By contrast, the Constitution's Second Amendment guarantees Americans the right to bear arms.

Reacting to the joint statement, Senate President Al Mansell, R-Sandy, chastised the religious leaders for breaking the law instead of using legal channels to get it changed.

"So, they're saying instead of working to get the law changed they're just going to violate it?" Mansell said. "If that's what they want to teach, I think we could have some serious problems in our society."

Passed this year by legislators, the new law was part of an amendment to the state's law prohibiting concealed-weapons permit holders from bringing firearms onto school campuses. The amendment requires religious groups to annually register their intent to ban firearms from their properties by registering with the state Bureau of Criminal Identification. The law also requires an annual public statement of that policy either verbally from the pulpit or published in a newsletter or general-circulation newspaper.

Prior to the amendment, churches could merely state their gun-ban policies in posted signage.