Maryland synagogue sues county over gun law near houses of worship

A Maryland synagogue filed a lawsuit against a county law restricting permit holders from carrying weapons within 100 yards of houses of worship in light of rising antisemitic attacks last week.

Montgomery County enacted a law on July 27 that restricted the possession or transport of firearms within 100 yards of “a place of public assembly,” which includes a place of worship like a Jewish synagogue. The law provides exceptions for police officers and licensed security guards and does not apply to the possession of firearms in one’s private home or the possession of one firearm and ammunition at a place of business by the owner or an authorized employee.

The lawsuit, filed just days later by the New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA) on behalf of the Silver Spring Jewish Center and Rabbi J. Menashe Shapiro, accused the county of not only violating Jewish people’s constitutional right to bear arms but also endangering them by depriving them of ways to defend themselves.

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“This ban could not come at a worse time for Montgomery County’s Jewish community. Just a short time after the firebombing in Boulder, the arson attack on Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s residence, and — close to home — the shooting at the Capital Jewish Museum, Montgomery County seeks to deprive Jews of their ability to defend themselves at their most Jewish moment: praying in synagogues. Jewish law requires Jews to defend themselves when necessary. Montgomery County would rather declare open season,” the lawsuit read.

NCLA also maintained that the recent Supreme Court decision on Wolford v. Lopez, ruling that Hawaii’s state law requiring a property owner’s explicit permission to allow lawful gun owners to bring firearms into public businesses was unconstitutional, already found that states and municipalities cannot deny citizens their Second Amendment rights.

Shapiro and NCLA Senior Litigation Counsel Jacob Huebert spoke to Fox News Digital about the support they have faced from the Jewish community regarding this lawsuit.

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“The Jewish community, not only nationwide, but internationally is behind, is largely supportive of this effort,” Shapiro said. “I’ve received a lot of comments and a lot of feedback from many people. This is, you might say, blown up on Jewish media channels and various sources. People are highly interested. And unfortunately, they perceive the real threat that this bill from Montgomery County poses.”

“We’ve received overwhelmingly positive feedback from this as people recognize how outrageous it is to disarm religious people who face actual credible threats and need to exercise their right to self-defense,” Huebert said.

NCLA is demanding that a court rule that the law was in violation of the First, Second and Fourteenth Amendment and permanently enjoin the county from enforcing the law.

Prior to the law, Shapiro explained that the synagogue organized a group of highly-trained licensed volunteers to help protect the area after the Oct. 7 attacks. 

As the lawsuit proceeds, Shapiro said he is focused on protecting his community through legal means.

“I’ll say we are doing our best to respond, and we hope that the Maryland courts will very quickly realize what a very dangerous position they put not only any one particular synagogue, but the religious people generally they’ve exposed to some pretty great risk,” Shapiro said.

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Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon expressed support for the lawsuit on Thursday and warned that the Justice Department would take action if the Maryland county did not block enforcement of the law.

“History teaches us that people are particularly vulnerable to armed attacks during worship. That is why @CivilRights Division @TheJusticeDept is acting quickly to challenge Montgomery Co., MD’s law disarm congregants in houses of worship that permit firearms,” Dhillon wrote on X.

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Montgomery County initially declined to comment on the lawsuit, telling Fox News Digital that the county “does not comment on pending litigation.”

However, Montgomery County Council President Natali Fani-González released a statement defending the law, saying that the restrictions were not a new addition.

“As elected leaders, it’s our responsibility to implement commonsense measures to help safeguard our residents and first responders from the growing epidemic of gun violence. The ban against bringing weapons into places of worship has been in place for decades. This provision wasn’t added in Expedited Bill 23-26, Weapons – Restrictions on Ghost Guns Near Minors and Carrying of Firearms in or Near Places of Public Assembly, which updated Montgomery County’s firearms law to comply with a Maryland Supreme Court decision while preserving the strongest local firearm restrictions authorized under state law,” Fani-González told Fox News Digital.