DOJ labels Montgomery County carry ban enforcement as police misconduct

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What we know

The Department of Justice has labeled Montgomery County's enforcement of a carry ban as police misconduct.

Patriot Watch first flagged this story 1 hr ago, when AmmoLand reported it. So far this remains a single-source report. The most recent report came 1 hr ago from AmmoLand.

⚖ The Constitutional Angle

Bruen established that the Second Amendment protects a right to carry handguns publicly for self-defense, and any restriction must be justified by the historical tradition of firearm regulation. Wolford struck down Hawaii's limits on licensed concealed-carry holders. Montgomery County's carry ban must clear that same historical bar or its enforcement is constitutionally suspect.

New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Kevin P. Bruen, Superintendent of New York State Police 597 U.S. 1 (2022)

Vote: 6-3 · Opinion: Thomas

New York's requirement that applicants demonstrate 'proper cause' — a special need for self-protection distinguishable from the general community — to obtain an unrestricted public-carry license violates the Fourteenth Amendment by preventing law-abiding citizens with ordinary self-defense needs from exercising their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms in public. The Court held the Second Amendment protects a right to carry handguns publicly for self-defense, and rejected the two-step means-end framework lower courts had applied after Heller.

Jason Wolford v. Anne E. Lopez, Attorney General of Hawaii 609 U.S. ___ (2026) (slip op.); U.S. Reports page not yet assigned

Vote: 6-3 · Opinion: Alito

Hawaii's law (Haw. Rev. Stat. § 134-9.5(a) (2023)) prohibiting licensed concealed-carry permit holders from carrying handguns on private property open to the public without the owner's express authorization violates the Second and Fourteenth Amendments. The decision restores the common-law default: a person lawfully carrying enjoys the implied license to enter property held open to the public unless the owner withdraws consent — a State may not flip that default to require express permission.

Precedent facts from the PW Law Library — primary-source verified & independently audited