A federal judge has temporarily blocked Montgomery County from enforcing its prohibition on firearms inside a Silver Spring synagogue, allowing the congregation’s licensed volunteer security personnel to remain armed while its constitutional challenge proceeds.

U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow issued the 72-page memorandum opinion Thursday, Sept. 10, granting preliminary relief to the Silver Spring Jewish Center and Rabbi J. Menashe Shapiro. The ruling came just before Rosh Hashanah, a period of heightened attendance and security concerns at Jewish institutions.

The injunction is limited to the plaintiffs and the prohibition on firearms inside their place of worship. Chasanow did not block the county’s separate 100-yard firearm buffer zones surrounding houses of worship and other designated locations.

Shapiro told Bethesda Magazine that the ruling was encouraging and said the plaintiffs believe it lays the groundwork for a stronger final outcome, despite the court not granting complete relief at this early stage.

Speaking to JNS, Shapiro said the decision allows the congregation to protect its members during a particularly significant time on the Jewish calendar.

Shapiro, an ordained Orthodox rabbi and student at George Washington University, is representing himself in Silver Spring Jewish Center, et al. v. Montgomery County. The synagogue is represented by the New Civil Liberties Alliance.

The lawsuit challenges portions of Montgomery County’s Expedited Bill 23-26, which regulates firearms in and around designated “places of public assembly,” including houses of worship, schools, parks, libraries, government buildings and recreational facilities.

The law generally prohibits the possession or transportation of firearms inside those locations and within 100 yards of them, even when a private property owner has consented to an armed person’s presence. Certain exceptions apply, including for licensed security guards.

The plaintiffs argued that the restrictions prevent the synagogue’s licensed volunteer security members from carrying firearms inside the building. They also maintained that the buffer zones could prevent Shapiro and other volunteers from carrying while walking to and from synagogue on Shabbat and Jewish holidays.

According to court filings, the Silver Spring Jewish Center formed an armed volunteer security team as part of a broader security plan following the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in Israel. Rabbi Yaakov Greiniman, the synagogue’s senior rabbi, said many team members have military experience and all are licensed by Maryland to carry firearms.

The synagogue hires an armed professional guard for part of the day but said providing paid security throughout its daily operating hours would be prohibitively expensive.

Shapiro argued that Jewish law requires Jews to defend themselves and others, citing the Talmud and Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat 425:1. He said the county ordinance substantially burdened his ability to fulfill that religious obligation personally.

In granting partial relief, Chasanow found that the county had not demonstrated a sufficient historical tradition supporting a prohibition on firearms inside houses of worship. She also noted that the ordinance treats religious institutions differently from many other privately owned locations, where property owners generally retain the authority to decide whether firearms may be carried.

The judge determined that the plaintiffs demonstrated a likelihood of success on their as-applied Second Amendment and Free Exercise claims concerning firearms inside their synagogue.

Chasanow did not decide the plaintiffs’ separate church-autonomy argument under the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause, concluding that it was unnecessary to resolve that issue at this preliminary stage.

She also declined to block the 100-yard buffer zones. The judge found that the plaintiffs had not yet demonstrated a likelihood of success in challenging restrictions surrounding other designated places of public assembly along Shapiro’s walking route.

NCLA President and Chief Legal Officer Mark Chenoweth said the ordinance deprives synagogue attendees of the ability to defend themselves amid heightened antisemitic threats. He also argued that government regulation of a congregation’s internal security decisions infringes on religious liberty.

NCLA Senior Litigation Counsel Jacob Hubert similarly argued that the law prevents the synagogue from protecting its members and fulfilling what its congregants consider religious obligations.

Montgomery County officials have defended the legislation as a public-safety measure.

“Public safety is one of the Council’s top priorities, and law enforcement needs the ability to take illegal firearms off our streets to keep our communities safe,” Montgomery County Council President Natali Fani-González told Baltimore Scoop.

“This litigation is complicated and ongoing, and we appreciate County Attorney John Markovs and his team for their representation on this issue,” she continued. “We remain hopeful that the ultimate resolution will protect the County’s ability to regulate public safety and protect our residents.”

Before the injunction was issued, Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy agreed to defer criminal prosecutions under the disputed provisions until the litigation is resolved. The plaintiffs then voluntarily dismissed McCarthy from the case. County attorneys also represented that police would not issue criminal citations while the case remains pending, although civil enforcement had still been possible before the injunction.

The Silver Spring Jewish Center case is one of several legal challenges involving Montgomery County’s firearm restrictions.

In August, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a separate federal lawsuit challenging the county’s 100-yard buffer zones as inconsistent with the Second Amendment. On Sept. 10, Montgomery County moved to dismiss that lawsuit, arguing that Expedited Bill 23-26 narrowed the county’s previous restrictions rather than expanding them. The court has not yet ruled in United States v. Montgomery County.

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court of Maryland ruled in Engage Armament LLC v. Montgomery County that the county exceeded its authority by regulating firearms near several locations that did not qualify as “places of public assembly” under state law. The court allowed regulations involving other locations, including places of worship, schools, parks, libraries, polling places and courthouses, to remain.

The federal constitutional questions, however, continue to be litigated.

For now, the preliminary injunction permits the Silver Spring Jewish Center and its licensed volunteer security personnel to carry firearms inside the synagogue while the case moves forward. It does not constitute a final ruling on the constitutionality of Montgomery County’s law.