Washington, D.C., Sept. 10, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland issued a preliminary injunction in Silver Spring Jewish Center, et al. v. Montgomery County allowing members of Silver Spring Jewish Center in Montgomery County, Maryland to carry firearms in their synagogue, a self-defense measure. The New Civil Liberties Alliance represents the synagogue in this lawsuit challenging the county’s recently-imposed Expedited Bill 23-26—specifically, its ban on firearms in places of worship and its ban on firearms within 100 yards of any “place of public assembly.” NCLA brought the lawsuit together with Rabbi J. Menashe Shapiro, who attends the synagogue.
The injunction stops Montgomery County authorities from enforcing one aspect of this law—the prohibition on carrying firearms in a place of worship—with respect to Silver Spring Jewish Center and its members while the litigation is pending. The court concluded that this prohibition likely violates both the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms and the First Amendment right to free exercise of religion, as NCLA has argued.
NCLA argues that Expedited Bill 23-26’s ban on firearms in places of worship also violates the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause by making decisions in place of religious leaders. In addition, the law deprives the Jewish community and others of equal protection under the law by discriminating on the basis of religion, a Fourteenth Amendment violation. The court declined to rule on those issues in today’s order.
Even now, however, people besides Silver Spring Jewish Center members, including members of other religious communities, could still face civil penalties from Montgomery County if they were to break the law. As the lawsuit continues, NCLA is determined to permanently block enforcement of both the ban on firearms in places of worship and the ban on firearms within 100 yards of places of public assembly.
NCLA released the following statement:
“We're delighted that the court has protected Silver Spring Jewish Center and its members' right to defend themselves in their place of worship. It's an important victory for them, the First Amendment, and the Second Amendment.”
—Jacob Huebert, Senior Litigation Counsel, NCLA
For more information visit the case page here.
ABOUT NCLA
NCLA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights group founded by prominent legal scholar Philip Hamburger to protect constitutional freedoms from violations by the Administrative State. NCLA’s public-interest litigation and other pro bono advocacy strive to tame the unlawful power of state and federal agencies and to foster a new civil liberties movement that will help restore Americans’ fundamental rights.
Joe Martyak New Civil Liberties Alliance 703-403-1111 joe.martyak@ncla.legal