Synagogue asks appeals court to widen gun-law injunction

The Orthodox synagogue’s appeal seeks broader relief from a Montgomery County law that bars firearms within 100 yards of places of public assembly. The restriction covers houses of worship as well as schools and government buildings, among other sites, and was enacted in July.

A federal judge in September issued a preliminary injunction allowing the center’s members to carry firearms inside their place of worship. The synagogue’s legal team, the New Civil Liberties Alliance, is now challenging the rule’s remaining reach: members say the 100-yard limit prevents them from carrying legally while walking to services.

The filing says that problem arises on the Sabbath and Jewish holidays, when members’ religious beliefs require them to walk to the synagogue. Their walking paths come within a 100-yard radius of educational facilities, recreation grounds and other religious venues, the group argued.

The center’s lawsuit contends the law violates constitutional protections for religious exercise and gun ownership, as well as the Fourteenth Amendment. NCLA senior litigation counsel Jacob Huebert said the rule interferes with members’ ability to practice their faith while carrying firearms, and said the group hoped the appeals court would act quickly.

The Fourth Circuit is being asked to extend the injunction beyond the synagogue’s premises to cover the approach to services. The current court order applies to the ban inside the center, while the county’s 100-yard restriction remains in effect outside it.

Appeal presses to expand gun access around places of worship

A Montgomery County restriction on guns near places of public assembly is back before the courts, as the Silver Spring Jewish Center seeks to extend an existing injunction. The rule, enacted in July, covers areas within 100 yards of sites including houses of worship and schools.

A federal judge has already allowed the Orthodox synagogue’s members to carry firearms inside the center. The new appeal seeks to reach beyond its walls, challenging the continuing ban on members carrying while walking to services.

The synagogue’s legal team says members’ paths on the Sabbath and Jewish holidays come within a 100-yard radius of educational facilities, recreation grounds and other religious venues. Its filing argues that the restriction conflicts with their religious practices, which require them to walk to synagogue on those days, and with their claimed constitutional right to carry firearms.

The case puts the law’s broad buffer zone at issue even after a judge granted the center preliminary relief inside its premises. The synagogue argues that protection is incomplete if members cannot carry on the walk required by their faith. The Fourth Circuit will consider whether to expand the injunction to cover that remaining part of their journey.

Synagogue asks court to protect armed walk to worship

Montgomery County’s 100-yard firearms restriction still reaches beyond the synagogue doors, and the Silver Spring Jewish Center wants the Fourth Circuit to stop its enforcement against members walking to worship. The Orthodox congregation’s appeal says the rule makes it impossible for members to carry legally on routes that pass near schools, parks and other houses of worship.

A federal judge in September already barred enforcement of the worship-place ban inside the center against its members. The New Civil Liberties Alliance is asking the appeals court to address what remains: the buffer zone surrounding the synagogue and congregants’ walks to services.

The filing says members’ religious beliefs require them to walk on the Sabbath and Jewish holidays. NCLA argues that the county’s rule burdens both that religious exercise and the right to carry firearms, and says the injunction should cover the full trip rather than only the destination.

The dispute now turns on whether the preliminary protection granted at the synagogue itself will extend to the 100-yard zone. The center’s appeal asks the Fourth Circuit to block the restriction as applied to members’ approach to worship.