Defending Montgomery County’s prohibition on carrying firearms in places of “public assembly.”
Court: District of Maryland
Issue at Stake: Sensitive places
Summary: Maryland Shall Issue v. Montgomery County is a case challenging a Montgomery County law that prohibits firearms at places of “public assembly,” which includes—among other locations—parks, places of worship, schools, and libraries. Plaintiffs allege that the regulations infringe upon their Second Amendment rights.
Everytown for Gun Safety filed an amicus brief in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, arguing that Montgomery County’s restrictions are constitutional under the approach to Second Amendment cases set out in New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Bruen. First, the brief explains that the plaintiffs failed to establish, as required under Bruen’s textual inquiry, that the Second Amendment’s plain text covers their proposed conduct. Second, it explains that the court should center its historical analysis on 1868 as opposed to 1791, and should also consider later laws. Third, the brief urges the court against dismissing the county’s historical analogues as outliers, because even a small number of laws can be sufficient to establish a tradition of firearm regulation under Bruen.
Decision: On July 6, 2023, the court denied the plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction, concluding that they had failed to establish standing with respect to some locations and, as to the remainder, they were unlikely to succeed on the merits of their Second Amendment claims.
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