A federal judge has declared unconstitutional a New York State law that made the possession of guns in houses of worship a felony.

The law was challenged by two African-American Baptist pastors, one in Niagara Falls, the other in Buffalo.

“The Nation’s history does not countenance such an incursion into the right to keep and bear arms across all places of worship across the state,” the court ruled. “The right to self-defense is no less important and no less recognized at these places.”