DOJ sues Montgomery County over amended gun restrictions  

Feds seeking preliminary injunction to prevent enforcement of law while challenge is underway 

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August 4, 2026 5:55 p.m.

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The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday sued Montgomery County in Maryland’s federal district court, arguing that the county’s restrictions on guns in public places are “breathtaking in scope” and likely unconstitutional. 

The restrictions at issue in the lawsuit — including limits on guns within 100 yards of parks, places of worship and schools — have been on the books for years. The county, however, had been unable to enforce them until recently as a result of a separate challenge in state court known as Engage Armament LLC, et al. v. Montgomery County, Maryland. 

To comply with the Maryland Supreme Court’s opinion in Engage Armament, the County Council on July 21 passed an amended version of the gun law, which included a narrow exemption for state wear-and-carry permit holders traveling on public highways. That version, which took effect last week, is now at the center of the federal government’s case. 

“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,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said in a Monday press release from the Justice Department, which is also seeking a preliminary injunction to halt enforcement of the amended law. 

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The county does not comment on pending litigation, spokesperson Mary Anderson told Bethesda Today in a Tuesday email. 

In addition to the county itself, the Justice Department named as defendants the county’s police department, sheriff’s office and Sheriff Maxwell Uy (D). The police department is a county government agency, while the sheriff’s office operates independently from the county. 

Assistant Sheriff Christopher Feldenzer told Bethesda Today that the office had not yet been served with a copy of the complaint as of Tuesday afternoon. However, he said, the office had been in communication with the Justice Department prior to the filing of the lawsuit. 

In a Friday letter to the Justice Department, Feldenzer wrote that the sheriff’s office “is not the primary law enforcement agency” for Montgomery County and is instead “primarily engaged as the law enforcement arm of the courts in the county.” 

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Feldenzer told Bethesda Today on Tuesday that the sheriff’s office had been meeting with its representatives in the Maryland Office of the Attorney General to discuss additional communications when officials learned the Justice Department had already filed suit. 

The Justice Department on Thursday sent a letter to all parties who would later be named in the lawsuit requesting confirmation that they would not enforce the county’s ban on firearms in places of worship, “absent the property owner’s own explicit prohibition.”  

“If we do not receive such assurance, we will file a lawsuit without further notice,” the letter read. Dhillon posted the letter to her official social media accounts. 

Anderson did not respond to a question from Bethesda Today on Tuesday about whether the county responded to the Justice Department’s letter. 

In a Tuesday statement to Bethesda Today, Council President Natali Fani-González (D-Dist. 6) wrote that “as elected leaders, it’s our responsibility to implement commonsense measures to help safeguard our residents and first responders from the growing epidemic of gun violence.” 

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“The County Attorney is reviewing the lawsuit and will respond appropriately on behalf of the County,” she wrote.  

This is a developing story and may be updated. 

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Originally published at Bethesdamagazine