Justice Department argues sweeping 100-yard exclusion zones violate the constitutional rights of licensed gun owners
(Worthy News) – The Trump administration’s Department of Justice has filed a federal lawsuit against Montgomery County, Maryland, challenging a new gun-control ordinance that restricts licensed citizens from carrying firearms in and around churches and thousands of other locations.
The lawsuit, first reported by the Daily Caller News Foundation, targets Bill 23-26, which prohibits firearms at designated locations and establishes a 100-yard exclusion zone surrounding them. The restrictions apply even when an individual holds a valid carry permit and has received permission from the property owner.
The Justice Department contends that the ordinance is so expansive that lawful gun owners could find it nearly impossible to travel through portions of Montgomery County without unintentionally entering a prohibited zone.
“The Second Amendment doesn’t stop at the church door,” Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Congregants have a right to protect themselves and their community.”
DOJ Challenges Restrictions Around Houses of Worship
Montgomery County’s ordinance covers churches, synagogues, schools, libraries, parks and numerous other public locations. The Daily Caller reported that County Executive Marc Elrich, a Democrat, signed the measure into law on July 27 after Maryland’s highest court struck down parts of the county’s previous firearms restrictions.
The Justice Department argues that the new law violates the Supreme Court’s ruling in Wolford v. Lopez, which rejected restrictions that prevented lawful citizens from carrying firearms into places routinely visited during daily life.
According to the federal complaint, there is no historical American tradition of broadly prohibiting firearms inside places of worship. The DOJ is asking the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland to block enforcement of the ordinance.
“Montgomery 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,” Dhillon said in the Justice Department’s announcement. “The Civil Rights Division will not stand idle while Montgomery County tramples the rights guaranteed to law-abiding citizens by the Second Amendment.”
Churches Face Genuine Security Threats
The legal dispute comes as churches and synagogues across the United States have increasingly confronted threats of violence, forcing many congregations to organize professional or volunteer security teams.
A Montgomery County rabbi publicly opposed the restrictions, warning that preventing legally armed congregants from carrying firearms near houses of worship could weaken security for Jewish communities facing heightened antisemitic threats.
The Daily Caller noted several deadly attacks against American houses of worship, including the 2015 massacre at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston and the 2018 Tree of Life synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh. It also cited the 2019 West Freeway Church of Christ attack in Texas, where an armed parishioner stopped a gunman within seconds after he opened fire during a service.
For many churches, the issue is not political theater but the sober responsibility of protecting families gathered to worship. The federal lawsuit will now test whether local officials may impose broad gun-free zones around religious institutions despite the objections of licensed citizens and property owners.
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