A federal judge denied a request by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to put a county gun-control ordinance on hold Monday.
The DOJ filed suit against Montgomery County, Maryland, over a law prohibiting carrying firearms within 100 yards of multiple locations, including churches, on Aug. 3, arguing it violated the Second Amendment rights of parishioners. United States District Judge Theodore D. Chuang of the District of Maryland, an Obama appointee, said that the DOJ lacked standing to pursue the case in his opinion released Monday.
“[T]he complaint is devoid of any allegations of any actual conduct by law enforcement officers relating in any way to Bill 23-26E,” Chuang claimed. “Indeed, there is no claim or record of actual enforcement actions taken by Montgomery County law enforcement officers not only in relation to Bill 23-26E since its enactment in July 2026, but also in relation to Bill 21-22E, the prior amendment to Chapter 57 enacted in 2022, or earlier Montgomery County laws relating to possession or transportation of firearms in or near places of public assembly.”
DOJ did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Senior United States District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow of the District of Maryland, a Clinton appointee, issued a ruling in September blocking enforcement of the “sensitive places ban” in a case brought by the New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA) against the D.C.-area county on behalf of a synagogue.
Chasanow took note of the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Wolford v. Lopez, which invalidated a similar Hawaii law containing multiple provisions restricting the carrying of firearms. The DOJ warned Montgomery County that its legislation could leave worshipers defenseless against an attack before it filed its lawsuit.
“History teaches us that houses of worship are vulnerable to armed attacks and congregants are particularly in need of the ability to defend themselves,” Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights R. Jonas Geissler wrote in the July 30 letter emailed to top county officials. “By disarming religious congregants during worship, Montgomery County infringes on such congregants’ ability to defend against such attacks.”
Churches and other places of worship have been attacked several times over the years, including in 2015, when a shooter killed nine people in a Charleston, South Carolina, church. A Mormon church was attacked in Grand Blanc, Michigan, in September 2025, while a San Diego mosque was targeted in May and the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh was struck by a mass shooter in October 2018.
Armed security guards at a West Bloomfield, Michigan, synagogue thwarted a Lebanese migrant who drove a truck into the building in March, saving the lives of children and staff.
Democratic Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich signed Bill 23-26 into law July 27, updating the county’s ordinances in response to an April 28 ruling by the state Supreme Court that struck down some of the jurisdiction’s previous measures regarding carrying firearms.
(DCNF)