Judge extends hold on NY’s gun ban

BUFFALO, N.Y. — A federal judge has blocked a provision of New York’s new gun law that bans carrying firearms in houses of worship from taking effect in parts of the state.

US District Judge John Sinatra Jr. sided with two Buffalo-area clerics and gun rights organizations who had sued and sought a hold on enforcement of the law until the judge decides the case on it merits.

The preliminary injunction issued, late Thursday, extends a temporary hold Sinatra ordered, last month. The order to stop enforcing the law applies directly to the prosecutors in Erie and Niagara counties and to the state police, who are defendants in the lawsuit.