Elrich signs amended law restricting ghost guns, other firearms in public places
Montgomery County Circuit Court to consider next month if preemption concerns adequately addressed
By
Ceoli JacobyJuly 27, 2026 6:00 p.m.
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Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich (D) on Monday signed a bill amending the county’s restrictions on ghost guns and other firearms in public places after the Supreme Court of Maryland in April said some parts of an earlier law could not stand.
“Complying with a court order is not the same as changing our commitment to public safety,” Elrich said during Monday’s bill signing ceremony at the Isiah “Ike” Leggett Executive Office Building in Rockville. “Montgomery County has long believed common-sense gun safety measures save lives, and we’re going to continue to use every tool available to us under the law to make our neighborhoods safer.”
The county’s effective ban on ghost guns became the subject of a protracted legal battle in May 2021, when nine plaintiffs in Engage Armament LLC, et al. v. Montgomery County, Maryland, challenged the law one month after the council passed it.
In November 2022, the council passed another law preventing people — including state wear-and-carry permit holders — from possessing, selling, transferring or transporting any firearms within 100 yards of a “place of public assembly.” A challenge to that law became part of the Engage Armament case.
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The case made it to the Supreme Court of Maryland, which issued an opinion April 28 invalidating certain aspects of both laws, including the county’s definition of a ghost gun and its definition of “places of public assembly” where guns are restricted.
The county’s new definition of a ghost gun, adopted by the council on June 21, exempts firearms made without a serial number that are later serialized by federally licensed firearms dealers. Unserialized firearms that do not go through that process will remain illegal.
Also under the amended law, the county’s list definition of a “place of public assembly” will no longer include hospitals, community health centers, long-term care facilities and childcare facilities. State wear-and-carry permit holders will be allowed to travel on public highways in the county while in possession of a firearm in accordance with state law.
‘Time was of the essence’
Councilmember Dawn Luedtke (D-Dist. 7), an attorney who was the lead sponsor of the amended law, said Monday the changes will allow the county to demonstrate during an Aug. 12 status conference in the Engage Armament case that “corrective action has been taken.”
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“Time was of the essence,” Luedtke said. “It’s important that we get this corrected … to make sure our laws here in Montgomery County to protect our residents and those who come to Montgomery County from the dangers of firearms are in place.”
John O’Brien, director of the Montgomery County Police Department’s Special Investigations Division, said during Monday’s bill signing that there were more than 600 “shooting events” in the county from 2023 to 2025.
During that same time period, O’Brien said, law enforcement agents across departments seized more than 3,000 firearms in the county.
At a June 9 public hearing on Luedtke’s bill, a group of gun rights advocates — including some involved in the Engage Armament case — argued that the amended law would still impose an undue burden on state wear-and-carry permit holders.
Mark Pennak, an attorney who represented the lead plaintiff before the Maryland Supreme Court, vowed to challenge the amended bill if adopted and called the proposal “legally stupid” in his testimony on June 9.
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Engage Armament plaintiff Eli Shemony, who identified himself in his June 9 testimony as the head of security for Magen David Sephardic Congregation in Rockville, said restricting guns in and around houses of worship would make the county’s Jewish residents less safe.
“The transition from public street to a house of worship is a critical and dangerous moment,” Shemony said during the public hearing.
Luedtke on Monday said some who spoke at the public hearing seemed to be confused about the effect of the legislation.
“This bill passed by the council last week does not add new prohibitions on firearms,” Luedtke said.
The new legislation also does not prevent law enforcement officers or licensed security guards from carrying firearms in and around places of public assembly, including houses of worship, Luedtke added.
According to the state Supreme Court opinion, whether an amended version of the county’s gun law could be considered constitutional “will depend on the scope of the amended law and evidence concerning its effects.” The case is now in the hands of the Montgomery County Circuit Court in Rockville.
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Originally published at Bethesdamagazine