MoCo asks judge to dismiss state court case following change in gun law
Supreme Court of Md. issued opinion in April, remanded case to Circuit Court in Rockville for further proceedings
By
Ceoli JacobyAugust 13, 2026 11:59 a.m.
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The Montgomery County government on Wednesday asked a judge to dismiss a state court challenge to its law restricting firearms in public places, arguing that the provisions at issue have since been removed.
Wednesday’s hearing at the Montgomery County Circuit Court in Rockville was the first since the Supreme Court of Maryland in April issued an opinion in Engage Armament LLC, et al. v. Montgomery County, Maryland.
The state’s highest court remanded the case back to the lower court with instructions to enter a judgement and award relief in accordance with its opinion, which found that the county did not have the authority under Maryland’s constitution to restrict guns in and around public highways, hospitals and other public places.
But the county’s gun law no longer applies to the places the Supreme Court ruled were outside its purview thanks to recent actions by the County Council, attorney Jeffrey Schwaber told the judge on Wednesday, arguing that further actions by the court aren’t needed.
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“In this case, the legislature beat you to it,” Schwaber, who is one of the lawyers representing the county, told Associate Judge Ronald Rubin.
In response to the Supreme Court of Maryland decision, the County Council on June 21 adopted a new definition of a “ghost gun” that 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 remain illegal.
The council also amended the county’s definition of a “place of public assembly” to no longer include hospitals, community health centers, long-term care facilities and childcare facilities. State wear-and-carry permit holders are allowed to travel on public highways in the county while in possession of a firearm in accordance with state law.
During a July press conference marking the signing of the amended bill, Montgomery County Councilmember Dawn Luedtke (D-Dist. 7) said she hoped the changes would allow the county to demonstrate during Wednesday’s hearing that “corrective action has been taken.”
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Mark Pennak, the attorney for the plaintiffs in Engage and president of the gun rights group Maryland Shall Issue, told the court Wednesday that the council is within its rights to amend the county’s gun law as it sees fit.
However, Pennak argued, the fact that the law has been amended is not a reason for Rubin to dismiss the case. By seeking to have the case dismissed, Pennak said, the county is attempting to get out of paying attorney’s fees and giving other relief to his clients.
Even entertaining the county’s motion to dismiss goes against the instructions of the state Supreme Court, Pennak told Rubin.
“I just ask the court to implement the mandate and be done with it,” Pennak said.
Schwaber denied that the county’s motion to dismiss had anything to do with attorney’s fees, which he said should be awarded at a later date once all appeals related to the gun law have been exhausted.
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In addition to the state law challenge, three separate challenges to the county’s gun law have recently been filed in Maryland’s federal district court, one of which includes many of the same plaintiffs from the Engage case. The U.S. Department of Justice is behind another.
“We are not at the end of everything,” Schwaber said. “The attorney’s fees issue has not ripened.”
Though Rubin did not rule on the county’s motion to dismiss Wednesday — he said he needed more time to read through the attorneys’ filings — he seemed inclined to agree with Pennak that throwing out the case would violate the state Supreme Court’s instructions.
“I don’t know that the Circuit Court has any ability one way or the other, other than to obey what the Supreme Court told us to do,” Rubin said.
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Originally published at Bethesdamagazine