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Community Corner

Today, Senator Zirkin will decide if Coaches will remain exempt from current law regarding sexual contact with teens.

On Monday, April 7th a Conference Committee of 6 Maryland legislators will meet behind closed doors to decide the fate of your child.  The question before them is should there be criminal laws in place that provide penalties for a variety of Persons in Positions of Authority if they have sexual contact with your child?
The bills are SB460 and HB781. 
At issue is the definition of a Person in Position of Authority.  
Under current Maryland law only full-time teachers are covered by this law. 
Montgomery County has already seen a case where a criminal case was dropped when it was discovered that the coach was not covered by current law. The House passed HB781 that expands the definition of a Person in Position of Authority to include coaches etc... The Senate refused to do so.
 
Parents, are you comfortable with current law? Are you comfortable knowing that if your child is in the custody of a coach, volunteer, part-time teacher or recreational program staff person the Person in charge of your child can engage in sexual contact with your child without criminal penalties under this current law? 

Here's who to contact about this bill now.  Remember, you only have only a few hours to have your opinion heard by the legislators that will decide what happens to this bill.

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