Justice Department sues Montgomery County for banning firearms in synagogues
The U.S. Department of Justice sued Montgomery County, Md., on Monday, asking a federal court to block the enforcement of new restrictions on carrying firearms in and around synagogues.
The lawsuit follows a Justice Department warning on Friday that the county should refrain from enforcing the ordinance against religious congregants or face a legal challenge.
Jacob Huebert, an attorney for the Silver Spring Jewish Center, which is suing the county, told JNS that the synagogue is “pleased that the Justice Department is joining us in the fight against this unconstitutional ban.”
Expedited Bill 23-26, signed on July 27, prohibits firearms in or within 100 yards of houses of worship, parks, schools, libraries and other “places of public assembly,” exempting law-enforcement officers and hired security guards.
The Justice Department said the ordinance’s “prohibitions effectively prevent carrying of firearms throughout much of the county without a legitimate purpose.”
The government stated in court filings that “as a practical matter, the enormous scope of the Exclusion Zone makes it almost impossible for a citizen to walk through town to shop, to dine or engage in any other common activity of daily life without likely entering the Exclusion Zone multiple times in a single trip, and thereby, becoming a criminal.”
The prohibited locations encompass “at least 10,000 parcels comprising over 7,900 acres,” or more than 26% of the county, before accounting for the buffer zones, according to the filing.
“The ban on firearms in places of worship, where the place of worship welcomes firearms, places a uniquely unsupportable burden on the right to bear arms,” the Justice Department stated in the filing. “If there is any place where people are entitled to feel safe and to defend themselves, it is at a place of worship.”
The lawsuit accuses county law-enforcement agencies of engaging in practices that violate the Second Amendment, and requests preliminary and permanent injunctions barring enforcement of the provisions.
“I hope we win,” Jack Leeb, a police psychologist who conducts gun-safety courses in the local Jewish community, told JNS. “I’m sure the socialists here in Montgomery County will come up with some other way to infringe on our rights. It’s what they do.”
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The U.S. Department of Justice has sued Montgomery County, Maryland, seeking to block new restrictions on carrying firearms in and around synagogues and other places of worship. The lawsuit, filed on Monday, follows a warning from the Justice Department regarding Expedited Bill 23-26, which prohibits firearms within 100 yards of houses of worship, parks, schools, and other public assembly areas, with exceptions for law enforcement and hired security. The Justice Department argues that the ordinance's broad scope, encompassing over 26% of the county, effectively prevents citizens from carrying firearms without legitimate purpose and places a "uniquely unsupportable burden on the right to bear arms." The court filing states, "If there is any place where people are entitled to feel safe and to defend themselves, it is at a place of worship." The Silver Spring Jewish Center, which is also suing the county, expressed pleasure that the Justice Department is joining their fight against the ban.
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