Montgomery County will not back down from defending its firearms ordinance against three simultaneous federal lawsuits, County Executive Marc Elrich declared during his weekly virtual media briefing Wednesday, Aug. 5, even as he conceded the law "could have been better."

"We're just not going to surrender," Elrich said. "If we get to a legal point and we lose in court, we lose in court. But I'm not going to surrender protections for people just because we're dealing with folks who are irrational."

The county's gun law, Expedited Bill 23-26, bans firearms within 100 yards of parks, schools, libraries, places of worship and other places of public assembly. The Montgomery County Council passed it unanimously on July 21, and Elrich signed it July 27. It took effect immediately.

For residents in Bethesda and Chevy Chase who hold state wear-and-carry permits, the practical impact is stark. The U.S. Department of Justice's complaint, filed Monday, Aug. 3, in Maryland's federal district court, states that at least 10,000 parcels covering more than 7,900 acres fall within the law's restricted areas, not counting the 100-yard buffer zones. Federal attorneys argue permit holders cannot realistically walk down the street without entering a prohibited zone.

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who leads the DOJ's Civil Rights Division, said the county "makes it almost impossible for a law-abiding citizen with a valid carry license to walk down the street and avoid these exclusion zones." The DOJ also filed a motion for a preliminary injunction to halt enforcement while the case proceeds.

Two more federal suits

The DOJ case is not alone.

The Silver Spring Jewish Center and Rabbi J. Menashe Shapiro filed suit July 30 in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, challenging the gun ban in and around places of worship on First, Second and Fourteenth Amendment grounds. According to the complaint, Shapiro holds a Maryland carry permit but cannot legally walk to his synagogue because his route passes within 100 yards of two public schools, two private schools, two parks and three other houses of worship.

The synagogue organized an armed volunteer security team after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel. The team is composed primarily of military veterans who hold carry permits and train together quarterly, according to the lawsuit.

A third federal suit, filed by a group of state wear-and-carry permit holders, challenges the amended law more broadly. The DOJ references both the synagogue case and the permit-holders case in its own complaint.

Background and what's next

The amended law was drafted to comply with an April 28 opinion by the Maryland Supreme Court in Engage Armament LLC v. Montgomery County, which struck down parts of an earlier county gun ordinance. Councilmember Dawn Luedtke (D-Dist. 7), the bill's lead sponsor, said at the July 27 signing ceremony that the changes would allow the county to demonstrate during an Aug. 12 status conference in the Engage Armament case that "corrective action has been taken."

That Aug. 12 hearing involves the state-level Engage Armament case at Montgomery County Circuit Court in Rockville. The three new federal lawsuits have no confirmed hearing dates yet.

Council President Natali Fani-González (D-Dist. 6) said in a statement Aug. 4 that the county's prohibition on firearms in places of worship "has been in place for decades" and that the new bill "simply amended the local law to conform to a Maryland Supreme Court decision from earlier this year."

As of Wednesday, the county had not formally responded to the DOJ's complaint or its injunction request. County spokesperson Mary Anderson said the county does not comment on pending litigation.

Asked about the potential cost of the legal fight, Elrich pointed to a February federal court order requiring Montgomery County Public Schools to pay $1.5 million to settle a lawsuit over its LGBTQ+ storybook opt-out policy. He was undaunted.

"Nobody likes spending money unnecessarily," he said. "But we're not going to know whether it's unnecessary until we play this out in court."