Back in March, here at American Thinker, I posted an article titled “Should churches have security teams?” As you might imagine, the answer was: “Yes. Yesterday.” I concluded that article with this:
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Should every church or synagogue have a security team? Certainly. Whether that team is low-key, their weapons concealed, or whether a team openly wears rifle-resistant vests and carries long arms should be determined by the local threat level. It’s ironic that the threat is likely greatest in blue urban areas that strive to disarm citizens and that tend to be hostile to Christians and Jews. History reveals no church, not tiny churches in tiny towns in Red America and not the largest synagogues in blue America, is immune.
If Christianity, Judaism and Western Civilization are to survive, they must use the ancient wisdom of their faiths, believe in the necessity of their survival, and take the necessary steps to ensure that survival. Ending the Iranian regime will go a long way toward achieving that civilizational goal, and so will competent security teams.
Fortunately, the Department of Justice under President Trump agrees and is doing something about it:
Graphic: X Post
Houses of worship are often targeted by people with murder on their minds. That’s especially true of synagogues, which were disproportionately attacked even before October 7 and have since been on the receiving end of the “antizionist” reframing of hatred of Jews. But in Montgomery County, Maryland, officials recently renewed efforts to forbid the carrying of firearms within 100 yards of “places of public assembly,” including churches and synagogues. Now, some security volunteers are defying the intrusive law as they await the outcome of courtroom pushback against the restrictions.
“Today, the Justice Department filed suit against Montgomery County, Maryland (County). The complaint alleges that the County’s newly enacted Bill 23-26 violates the Second Amendment by prohibiting law-abiding citizens from possessing firearms in daily life,” the U.S. Department of Justice announced on August 3. “Bill 23-26 prohibits carrying firearms at thousands of locations, and also creates an arbitrary 100-yard exclusion zone around each location. The law applies even if the person carrying a firearm is duly licensed and has the express consent of the property owner.”
Among the most positive developments on the Second Amendment front have been the realization of many American Jews that while the police would like to be able to protect everyone, they just can’t. There aren’t enough of them. They love to catch dangerous criminals in the act, but can’t be everywhere at once, and they have no legal obligation to protect any individual citizen. The Supreme Court case is Castlerock v. Gonzales. You can read about it here.
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They’ve also been paying attention to the incredible increase in antisemitic violence, spurred on by the Democrat Party and put into overdrive by the rise of Communist and Islamist elements working to seize control of the Party. American Jews for whom “Never Again” was once thought to be an icky Zionist slogan are coming to understand it’s a necessary reminder of the necessity for individual and collective survival.
Separately, on behalf of the Silver Spring Jewish Center and along with Rabbi J. Menashe Shapiro, the New Civil Liberties Alliance is suing Montgomery County. That lawsuit contends the law “violates the First Amendment right to free exercise of religion by prohibiting synagogue members from acting according to their beliefs. It also violates the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause by making decisions in place of religious leaders. The law denies the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms, and deprives the Jewish community and others of equal protection under the law by discriminating on the basis of religion, a Fourteenth Amendment violation.”
To be entirely fair, Maryland synagogues apparently aren’t being singled out. The law in question is just another blue state attempt to deny Americans their right to bear arms by declaring pretty much everywhere a “sensitive” location. Under the Supreme Court’s Heller and decisions, “sensitive places” are limited, but Maryland is pushing the envelope. Like other blue states, they’re writing laws they know to be unconstitutional. The Court’s intent clearly refers to places like jails and courtrooms, not churches, synagogues, or other places where people commonly gather.
So, good for the Jews, and good for the DOJ. Without Donald Trump, the Second Amendment would be just another unalienable liberty Democrats would deny us.
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Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, lifelong athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer, and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.