The Montgomery County Council voted 10-1 on Tuesday to pass a bill updating the county's ghost gun and firearm carry laws, narrowing where gun restrictions apply while keeping firearms banned near schools, parks and places of worship.
Expedited Bill 23-26, sponsored by Councilmember Dawn Luedtke (D-Dist. 7), brings county law into compliance with a Maryland Supreme Court ruling issued April 28 that struck down portions of two earlier firearms ordinances.
"The sole purpose of this bill is to bring into conformity our local laws that were passed by the prior council to match what was issued in the Maryland Supreme Court's decision," Luedtke said at the Tuesday meeting.
Councilmember Laurie-Anne Sayles (D-At-large) cast the lone dissenting vote. She raised concerns about how police would enforce the carry restrictions without infringing on residents' rights, asking council staff how officers would know someone is carrying a concealed weapon without stopping and frisking them.
What changed
Under the new law, the county's definition of a "place of public assembly" no longer includes hospitals, community health centers, long-term care facilities and childcare facilities. Gun regulation at those locations now falls to the state.
Carrying firearms within 100 yards of a park, place of worship, school, library, recreational facility, multipurpose exhibition facility, polling place, courthouse or legislative assembly remains prohibited.
The bill also added a new exemption: residents with a state wear-and-carry permit may now possess a handgun while traveling on public highways within 100 yards of a place of public assembly. That exemption does not extend to permit holders approaching those areas via private drives or other modes of transportation.
On ghost guns, the law still bans transferring them to minors and leaving them in locations accessible to minors. But it drops a broader provision the Supreme Court struck down that had banned possessing, selling, or transporting ghost guns in the presence of a minor.
Background
The legal challenge began in May 2021, when Engage Armament LLC, a Rockville gun shop, and eight other plaintiffs sued Montgomery County over a 2021 law that effectively banned ghost guns. A second county law passed in November 2022 restricted firearms within 100 yards of places of public assembly, including for state wear-and-carry permit holders.
The Supreme Court of Maryland ruled unanimously on April 28 that the county overstepped its authority in several areas, including its definition of ghost guns and its overly broad list of restricted locations.
Luedtke introduced the corrective bill on May 12. The council's Public Safety Committee unanimously recommended approval with amendments after a June 9 public hearing. Those amendments revised exemptions for firearms kept inside vehicles to more closely match state law and preserved a grandfather clause allowing gun shops operating before Jan. 1, 1997, to remain exempt from the place-of-public-assembly restrictions.
The Montgomery County Police Department had not issued enforcement guidance on the updated carry restrictions as of Tuesday evening. Residents with questions about firearms laws can contact the MCPD non-emergency line at 301-279-8000.
