A county law meant to safeguard residents from gun violence while they worship was partially struck down. However, those same worshippers say they’re left exposed while commuting and practicing outside of their building. Should their own needs for public safety outweigh the county’s, or must they walk unprotected?
A Montgomery County, Maryland, law passed in July established a buffer zone banning firearms or weapons within 100 yards of a public assembly. Lawmakers passed it with sights set on reducing the county’s already-declining homicide rate. But the Silver Spring Jewish Center argued it runs afoul of their rights to worship and possess guns.
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A federal judge agreed partly with the synagogue and issued a preliminary injunction to allow guns inside the building. Worshippers filed another request, this time stating they need the right to carry while commuting between the synagogue and their homes. They fear being left vulnerable with Sukkot starting Friday and Simchat Torah on Oct. 2, according to court records.
“The court has rightly protected Silver Spring Jewish Center members’ right to bear arms to defend themselves in their place of worship,” Jacob Huebert, a lawyer representing the synagogue, said in a Thursday press release. “For the very same reasons, it should also protect their right to carry their firearms as they walk between the synagogue and their homes, as their religious beliefs require.”
The synagogue filed an appeal with the Fourth Circuit Court. The Justice Department sued the county in August to get the legislation repealed but dropped its claims without prejudice on Sept. 3, according to court records.
Montgomery County declined to comment on this story, stating that it doesn’t comment on pending litigation.
A previous iteration of the bill had a countywide ban on 3D-printed and other untraceable firearms near children under 18 years of age. The state Supreme Court ruled those prohibitions were too restrictive and out of the county’s scope of authority.
“This bill is a commonsense, balanced approach in Montgomery County’s local law to keep guns out of sensitive community spaces,” Council member Dawn Luedtke said in a July press release.
County saw slight dip in homicides
County officials celebrated the bill’s passage in July. They said it would help address the county’s rising homicide rates.
Executives said in 2022 that the law was their effort to reduce the county’s gun-related homicides, which were at 11 murders. The county police department recovered 1,053 firearms that same year, of which 165 were untraceable.
The county’s crime rate dropped slightly from 2022 to 2024, the earliest year available on the state’s crime dashboard. In 2022, the county had 23 homicides. In 2024, that number dropped to 20. The dashboard does not distinguish what weapon, if any, was used.
Compared to other counties in the state, Montgomery had the 20th lowest homicide rate in 2024 with 1.9 murders for every 100,000 residents. Baltimore City had the highest rate at 34.4 homicides for every 100,000 residents.
Attacks at religious establishments persist
A slight decrease in homicides came at a time when religious places experienced increasing fatal attacks. Many Jewish people reported feeling unsafe with antisemitism rising after Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel, according to the American Jewish Committee.
“Right now, in America, when Jews gather, whether at synagogue or a community event, it’s routinely behind metal detectors and armed guards,” Ted Deutch, AJC CEO, said in a February release. “No one in America should have to change their behavior because of what they believe, but that’s how most Jews are living their lives.”
The AJC has considered chants like “Free Palestine” to target Jewish people and call for an end to Zionism and Israel.
Despite a Pew Research Survey estimating about 2.4% of all U.S. adults being Jewish, the FBI said in its 2025 crime report that antisemitism-fueled crimes made up 14% of all hate crimes.
Guila Franklin Siegel, chief operating officer at the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, said in a May 5 release that students in Montgomery County Public Schools were experiencing a “deeply troubling pattern of antisemitic and/or anti-Zionist incidents.
“These include anti-Jewish and anti-Israel graffiti on school walls, most recently at Greenwood Elementary School this weekend; inflammatory anti-Israel messaging at Olney Elementary School’s recent culture night; ‘Heil Hitler’ gestures and speech occurring at middle school events; and, most worryingly, physical threats and harassment directed toward Jewish students at multiple schools,” she said.
According to the Violence Prevention Project, a repository maintained by the Minnesota-based Hamline University, recorded a significant increase in killings at places of worship from 2024 to 2025. In 2024, the database tracked seven killings in 2024, and 24 the following year.
Injuries were exponentially higher, with zero recorded in 2024 and 41 in 2025. The database found that attackers targeted Christians 97% of the time, with Judaism being targeted 2% of the time.
Fears compounded this year after two separate attacks at the Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield, Mich., and the Islamic Center of San Diego resulted in three casualties and one injury. The lone attacker in Michigan and two teens in California were both killed at the scene.
Security guards in both incidents were lauded for preventing further devastation. Their efforts didn’t go unnoticed. Temple Israel Rabbi Jen Lader pleaded for Congress to allocate $725.5 million for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program.
“It’s something that we need our government’s support and help in managing this,” Lader told Straight Arrow in May. “Not just to protect our own kids, but to protect all of our children in America who deserve to go to school safely without being afraid.”
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