A Maryland Judge Just Let a Synagogue Carry Inside — and Left the 100-Yard Trap Standing

Senior U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow filed the order in Silver Spring Jewish Center, Inc. et al. v. Montgomery County, Maryland, et al., Civil Action No. DKC 26-2963, on September 10, 2026. The two-page order grants in part the plaintiffs’ motion for a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction. Montgomery County, County Executive Marc Elrich, and Police Chief Marc R. Yamada — plus officers, agents, and anyone in active concert with them who gets actual notice — “ARE PRELIMINARILY ENJOINED from enforcing Montgomery County Code §§ 57-1 and 57-11(a)(1) against Plaintiffs Silver Spring Jewish Center, Inc. and Rabbi J. Menashe Shapiro, to the extent that those provisions prohibit Plaintiffs from selling, transferring, possessing, or transporting a handgun in THEIR respective places of worship.” Security is waived. The clerk was told to send the memorandum opinion and order to Rabbi Shapiro and to counsel.

The 72-page memorandum, filed the same day, is the rest of the story. Section 57-11 bans sale, transfer, possession, or transport of firearms, ammunition, or major components “in or within 100 yards of a place of public assembly.” Section 57-1’s list includes parks, places of worship, schools, libraries, recreational facilities, fairgrounds, government buildings open to the public, polling places, courthouses, and legislative assemblies, plus associated parking lots and grounds. A Class A violation carries up to a $1,000 fine or six months in jail. After Bruen, the county deleted the old exemption for Maryland carry-permit holders. Expedited Bill 23-26, enacted July 27, 2026, was the county’s rewrite after the Maryland Supreme Court in Engage Armament LLC v. Montgomery County, 494 Md. 1 (2026), gutted parts of the prior chapter as not a “local law.”

The Maryland Daily Record reported September 14 that the injunction is plaintiff-specific, that New Civil Liberties Alliance represents the synagogue, and that Jacob Huebert called it an important First and Second Amendment win while remaining “disappointed” the 100-yard buffers still block Sabbath walking. Chasanow also denied Maryland Shall Issue a countywide injunction the same Thursday, treating school buffers as a likely constitutional application. The Justice Department’s parallel challenge remains before Judge Chuang. This order does not wipe the county map. It puts a handgun back inside one sanctuary and leaves the walk to the door as county business.