The Justice Department is suing Montgomery County over its new gun law due to its alleged violation of the Second Amendment.
New County Law
County Executive Marc Elrich signed Bill 23-26 on July 27. The bill changes the county rules on where individuals can carry personal firearms.
The bill was signed with the intention to decrease gun violence in the county, specifically in vulnerable spaces like school zones and places of worship. Personal arms are also prohibited from being within 100 feet of these locations.
“These are the places where our children learn, and our families gather; they must remain safe,” Elrich said.
The intial lawsuit
Quickly after the signing, Rabbi J. Menashe Shapiro of the Silver Spring Jewish Center deemed the bill unconstitutional. Shapiro claims that he should be permitted to carry his firearm inside and on his walk to his synagogue for safety reasons.
According to Shapiro, multiple anti-semitic attacks have occurred after October 7.
His legal counsel, the New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA) filed a lawsuit with Montgomery County over these new legal restrictions.
Jacob Huebert, the Senior Litigation Counsel for the NCLA, believes this to be a constitutional violation.
“Montgomery County’s law prevents our client from defending its members from the threat of anti-Semitic attacks and from fulfilling their religious obligations,” said Huebert. “It brazenly violates the First Amendment, the Second Amendment, and the Fourteenth Amendment, and the courts should swiftly strike it down.”
Mark Chenoweth, the President and Chief Legal Officer of the NCLA, agrees with Huebert.
“It boggles the mind in the current anti-Semitic climate that the county would deny a synagogue the ability to defend worshippers as it sees fit,” said Chenoweth. “Such interference in the internal management of a place of worship violates the First Amendment, too.”
The DOJ Position
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) joined Shapiro in his fight and filed a lawsuit against Montgomery County on August 3.
The DOJ emphasized the 100 yard rule, and expressed disdain on how difficult it is to follow.
“The 100-yard exclusion zone makes it practically impossible for individuals in the county to go about their daily business while lawfully carrying a firearm,” the DOJ said in a statement. “Therefore, the ordinance violates the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Wolford v. Lopez, where the Court held a law that bans citizens from carrying firearms into, ‘places that people routinely visit in the course of their daily routines.’”
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division argues that the bill is a blatant violation of the Second Amendment.
“The Second Amendment does not allow local governments to ban law-abiding citizens from carrying firearms in public places as they go about their daily lives,” said Dhillon. “The Civil Rights Division will not stand idle while Montgomery County tramples the rights guaranteed to law-abiding citizens by the Second Amendment.”
The bill will be reviewed in court. If the motion for preliminary injunction is granted, the effects of the bill will stop until the lawsuit is settled.
Montgomery County has yet to issue a formal response. MCM will update the story as more information becomes available.
