Judge Theodore Chuang of the U.S. District Court for Maryland wrote in a 33-page opinion that the federal government was not likely to prevail in its suit against the county, which passed the emergency measure in July. The law prohibits firearms within 100 yards of public locations such as government buildings, parks, and schools. It actually narrows the scope of prohibited areas compared to earlier county rules, removing hospitals, healthcare facilities, childcare centers, and others to comply with a separate court ruling, Chuang noted.

The Justice Department filed suit on August 3, a week after County Executive Marc Elrich signed the bill into law on July 27. The suit named the county, the county police department, and Sheriff Maxwell Cornelius Uy as defendants. The department argued that the law violated the Second Amendment and the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, a federal statute enacted after the Rodney King beating that allows the attorney general to bring civil action to eliminate a "pattern or practice" that deprives people of protected rights.

But Chuang found that the county had argued correctly that Justice had not provided any evidence that county police were engaged in a pattern or practice of prohibited behavior under the week-old law. The judge wrote that the suit was "devoid of any allegations of any actual conduct by law enforcement officers relating in any way" to the new law. He added that there was "no claim or record of actual enforcement actions taken by Montgomery County law enforcement officers" not only under the new law but also under its predecessor or any earlier county laws relating to firearms in or near places of public assembly.

Chuang, who held a hearing on the case on October 1, ruled that the Justice Department had never used the law enforcement act to "challenge solely to invalidate a state or local law absent any police misconduct." That left the government challenging the constitutionality of the law on its face rather than any officer action, which Chuang said would be a "breathtakingly broad expansion of federal power in advancing civil enforcement actions by the federal government against state and local governments."

"The federal government should not have unfettered authority to intrude on the actions of state and local governments," Chuang wrote. "And Congress, not the Executive Branch, must decide on when such intrusions are warranted by the need to protect individual rights."

In response to the ruling, a Justice Department spokesperson said the agency is evaluating its options. "The Department is assessing the decision and next steps, but remains committed to protecting the Second Amendment rights of law abiding citizens in Maryland," spokesperson Kiersten Pels said in an email Tuesday.

Elrich welcomed the court's decision. "I am pleased that this legal challenge has been resolved in the County's favor," he said in a statement. "We will continue to stand by our responsibility to keep Montgomery County safe and to ensure that our public spaces remain places where residents can gather with confidence. Our commitment remains unchanged: protecting our residents, supporting our communities, and using every lawful tool available to promote public safety."

The county law is similar to a state law approved more than three years ago that was immediately challenged in separate suits—one by Susannah Warner Kipke, the wife of Del. Nic Kipke (R-Anne Arundel), and the Maryland State Rifle and Pistol Association on First, Second, and 14th amendment grounds; and another by Katherine Novotny and Maryland Shall Issue, along with the Second Amendment Foundation. U.S. District Judge George L. Russell III combined the complaints into one case and ruled in August 2024 to uphold most of the Gun Safety Act of 2023. A federal appeals court in January upheld most of that law, which bans guns within 1,000 feet of a public demonstration or at places such as parks, sports venues, and schools. The court said an exception to "sensitive places" did not apply on "private property held open to the public," where the law prohibits guns without specific permission from the property owner.

The ruling in the county case leaves the Justice Department weighing whether to appeal, while the county's law remains in effect.