DOJ and Local Synagogue Sue Montgomery County Over New 100‑Yard Gun Exclusion Zones
The lawsuits put a federal court in position to decide whether counties may bar licensed carry around thousands of community sites in light of recent state and Supreme Court guidance.
Overview
- The U.S. Department of Justice filed a federal suit on Monday challenging Montgomery County’s Expedited Bill 23-26 and asking a judge to block enforcement of its 100-yard exclusion zones.
- A separate complaint by Silver Spring Jewish Center and Rabbi J. Menashe Shapiro, filed on Thursday, argues the law violates the Second Amendment and the Free Exercise, Establishment and Equal Protection Clauses of the Constitution.
- Bill 23-26 creates 100-yard no-carry zones around defined “places of public assembly,” including schools, parks, libraries, places of worship, recreational facilities, polling places and courthouses.
- Montgomery County says the ordinance was revised after an April Maryland Supreme Court ruling to conform with state limits and retains a travel exemption for state handgun permit holders on public highways.
- If the federal courts side with the plaintiffs the ruling could narrow local authority to restrict where licensed people carry and affect how communities balance congregational security and public-safety zoning.