The U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday, Aug. 3, that it has filed a lawsuit against Montgomery County, alleging the County’s recently enacted firearms law violates the Second Amendment.
According to the complaint, Bill 23-26 unlawfully prohibits licensed, law-abiding gun owners from carrying firearms in thousands of locations throughout the County and establishes a 100-yard exclusion zone around those areas. The Justice Department argues the restrictions apply even when an individual has a valid carry permit and the permission of a property owner.
“The Second Amendment does not allow local governments to ban law-abiding citizens from carrying firearms in public places as they go about their daily lives,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “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.”
The lawsuit contends the ordinance conflicts with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Wolford v. Lopez, arguing that the law effectively prevents residents from lawfully carrying firearms for self-defense during everyday activities. The Justice Department is asking the court to invalidate the challenged provisions of the County’s law.
