Judge Tosses DOJ Suit Over Montgomery County Gun-Free Zones on Technicality
A federal judge in Maryland has dismissed the Justice Department's lawsuit against Montgomery County's firearm-carry restrictions, leaving the county's "gun-free zone" ordinance in place for now without ever ruling on whether it violates the Second Amendment.
Snapshot
U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang denied DOJ's request for a preliminary injunction and dismissed the case with prejudice, finding the department lacked authority to sue under the federal statute it chose. The ruling leaves Montgomery County's Bill 23-26E, which bars carrying within 100 yards of parks, schools and houses of worship, untouched for now.
Key points
- Wrong statute, not wrong law: Chuang didn't address whether the ordinance violates the Second Amendment; he ruled DOJ's chosen statute, 34 U.S.C. Section 12601, doesn't cover this kind of challenge.
- No enforcement alleged: The judge noted DOJ identified no actual arrests, citations, or enforcement actions by county officers under the ordinance or its predecessors.
- Narrow reading of federal power: Chuang called DOJ's theory a "breathtakingly broad expansion of federal power," saying Congress wrote Section 12601 to address police misconduct patterns, not to let DOJ challenge any law it dislikes.
- Dismissed with prejudice: The case can't be refiled under this statute, a setback for the Trump administration's Civil Rights Division gun-law litigation strategy.
- Other fights continue: Separate Second Amendment challenges to Montgomery County's rules are unaffected, and the Supreme Court is weighing whether to hear Novotny v. Moore, a broader challenge to Maryland's gun-free zones.
Quick take
This is a procedural loss, not a constitutional win for Montgomery County. Chuang's ruling hands other judges a roadmap for tossing similar DOJ suits built on the same statute, but it leaves the real question, whether these sensitive-place restrictions survive Bruen, for other litigation to decide.
Read the full story: bearingarms.com