On July 21, the Montgomery County Council rolled out a gun control package that is as ridiculous as it is unconstitutional, and it went into effect last week.
Opposition sprang up instantly, and local leaders now face a lawsuit from Maryland Shall Issue and five private citizens aimed at dismantling the county’s extreme infringement on the right to keep and bear arms outside of the home.
Then there’s the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) stark warning to Montgomery County over its prohibition of lawfully possessing firearms in a place of worship.
Maryland’s most populous county now is a virtually ‘gun-free’ zone–for law-abiding citizens
The plaintiffs in Barreto v. Montgomery County noted in their complaint that literally thousands of county locations are no-go zones for lawful firearm owners.
“Specifically, Montgomery County GIS Open Data shows that Montgomery County is home to 1,262 public bikeways, 605 houses of worship, 693 public parks, 258 private schools, 137 public elementary schools, 40 middle schools, 25 high schools,” and scores of post offices, public pools, fire stations, and other “sensitive” locations.
None of which allows lawful firearm possession within 100 yards. Exactly how is a law-abiding citizen supposed to know if they are committing a “crime” by exercising their Second Amendment rights?
Leaders replaced unconstitutional gun control with more of the same
County officials responded in July to an April ruling by the Maryland Supreme Court that its firearm prohibitions were overly broad. Their solution? A patchwork quilt of overlapping “gun-free” zones that render lawful carry meaningless for most residents.
The state’s highest court should be appalled by the local government’s clear disdain for its actions. The responding lawsuit revealed the intense opposition to the sweeping gun control package, and the Maryland Supreme Court may yet again decide the issue—emphatically this time.
Then there’s federal concern over provisions in the ban that erase the right to possess a firearm in a house of worship lawfully.
It is regrettable but undeniable that, in 2026, places where congregants freely assemble are often targeted by violent criminals with any number of axes to grind. Many of these locations now have armed security, though that became illegal in Maryland last week.
Enter the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division Second Amendment Section and Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon. On Thursday, she sent a letter to the Montgomery County Council warning lawmakers that they will be on the receiving end of the federal government’s power if this new statute is enforced.
“History teaches us that houses of worship are vulnerable to armed attacks and congregants are particularly in need of the ability to defend themselves,” Dhillon warned. “By disarming religious congregants during worship, Montgomery County infringes on such congregants’ ability to defend against such attacks.”
The AAG allowed for owners of places of worship to have an “explicit prohibition” against guns. That is far different from a government-enforced blanket ban on the most critical components of self-defense.
And it’s not like such targets have not already been struck by evildoers. Mass murderer Dylann Roof sits on death row today for the racist killing of nine African American worshipers at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston in 2015.
Robert Bowers also awaits his execution date for the 2018 murders of 11 worshipers at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue over anti-Jewish hatred. An armed response during either tragedy almost certainly would have saved lives.
Constitutionally guaranteed freedom of religion is meaningless if the faithful are under threat from those who consider houses of worship to be “soft targets.”
That designation immediately changes when an armed defender is there to respond quickly.
Montgomery County should know better.
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