Montgomery County, Maryland vs. Gun Shows

A status update regarding the show ban and suit by Silverado, Valley Guns and Robert Culver for MCSM (Extracted and paraphrased from various documents)

A hearing was held Friday, July 20 before Judge Marvin J. Garbis of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. As a result of that hearing the judge issued a PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION, regarding three of the seven counts in the suit, on Monday July 23, 2001. That injunction said;

1)The court finds that the Plaintiffs will sustain irreparable injury should the Defendant enforce or threaten to enforce Montgomery County Code section 57-13 so as to impose sanctions with regard to a gun show to be held in October of 2001.

2)The defendant is hereby restrained and enjoined from enforcing or threatening to enforce (the code) so as to impose sanctions with regard to the gun show to be held in October of 2001.

3)This Preliminary Injunction shall constitute a permanent injunction unless Defendant, by August 1, 2001, moves the Court to provide for a termination date.

4)This order is without prejudice to the parties’ respective contentions regarding the enforcement of Montgomery County (code) in regard to gun shows held on or after December 1, 2001.

The bottom line in all this is that the legal impediment to the October Silverado show has been removed. This decision was easily reached when all parties agreed that the new Montgomery County law did not take effect until December 1st, 2001, after the planned October show date.

The fate of future shows, however, is to be decided when the final decision in the suit is arrived at. That decision hinges on the interpretation of Commercial and Non-Commercial Free Speech (1st Amendment protected speech) and if the new Montgomery County law would infringe such speech. That decision is expected to be reached very soon (at least soon in legal suit terms), perhaps by the end of August or early September. Thus plans and contracts for January 2002 and later shows could be made and no injunction regarding that date is needed.

The Court cited significant issues in the suit, particularly regarding the County use of the phrases in the new law, "display and sale of guns". Questions arose regarding the precise meaning and wether there are aspects of a sale that constitute commercial speech and actions that are or are not protected speech.