A Maryland Synagogue Just Won a Temporary Injunction Against a 100-Yard Church Gun Ban
Judge Deborah K. Chasanow, District of Maryland, granted in part a preliminary injunction in Silver Spring Jewish Center, Inc. v. Montgomery County, No. DKC 26-2963. Plaintiffs: the Silver Spring Jewish Center and Rabbi J. Menashe Shapiro. Defendants: the County, County Executive Marc Elrich, and Police Chief Marc R. Yamada. Montgomery County Code § 57-11 bars firearms “in or within 100 yards of a place of public assembly,” which the code defines to include a place of worship. The injunction is as-applied. It is not a countywide vacatur. The Reload published the ruling September 18.
- D. Md. No. DKC 26-2963: SSJC and Rabbi J. Menashe Shapiro v. Montgomery County, Elrich, and Yamada. Judge Deborah K. Chasanow. PI granted in part after a Sept. 3 hearing.
- Code § 57-11: no firearms in or within 100 yards of a “place of public assembly,” defined to include a place of worship.
- Likelihood of success on the as-applied Second Amendment claim as to places of worship. Not a facial, countywide injunction.
- The Reload, Sept. 18: volunteer licensed security team plus one hired guard (exempt). Counsel: Jacob Huebert, NCLA.
- Preliminary only. Bond waived. Later appellate guidance, the judge wrote, may still move the final result.
The memorandum opinion is Silver Spring Jewish Center, Inc. v. Montgomery County, Civil Action No. DKC 26-2963, U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, Deborah K. Chasanow, United States District Judge. Plaintiffs: Silver Spring Jewish Center, Inc., and Rabbi J. Menashe Shapiro. Defendants remaining: Montgomery County, Marc Elrich in his official capacity as County Executive, and Marc R. Yamada in his official capacity as Chief of Police. State’s Attorney John McCarthy was voluntarily dismissed without prejudice on August 24, 2026. The motion for TRO or preliminary injunction is ECF No. 5. Hearing: September 3, 2026. Holding line in the opinion: the motion “will be granted in part.”
The statute is Montgomery County Code § 57-11(a): no sale, transfer, possession, or transport of firearms, ammunition, or a major component “in or within 100 yards of a place of public assembly.” “Place of public assembly” under § 57-1 includes a park, a place of worship, a school, a library, a recreational facility, a multipurpose exhibition facility, and a government building open to the public. Chasanow: “SSJC and Rabbi Shapiro, at this preliminary stage, have demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits as to their as-applied Second Amendment claim of the Code’s firearm restrictions as to places of worship.” She did not preliminarily wipe the rest of the 100-yard map. The Reload, September 18: the synagogue runs an armed volunteer security team of licensed carriers, many former military, plus one hired armed guard who is already exempt; it did not want to rely only on the hire. Jacob Huebert of the New Civil Liberties Alliance, counsel for the plaintiffs, called it “an important victory for them, the First Amendment, and the Second Amendment.”
Chasanow waived a security bond. She also warned that later Supreme Court or circuit guidance “may affect the ultimate resolution.” This is a preliminary, as-applied order. It is not a final judgment that the county code is dead on its face.
"The county banned the gun 100 yards from the sanctuary. The judge took the synagogue out of that circle. She left the rest of the map for another day."← More Stories
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