Montgomery County youth are trying to show their local lawmakers that they’re not the juvenile delinquents a proposed curfew makes them out to be.
A group of four Montgomery County youth — including Board of Education student member Alan Xie — has organized a campaign on Facebook to fight the youth curfew County Executive Ike Leggett proposed earlier this week. The group has posted an online petition and is encouraging opponents of the bill to attend the public hearing hosted by the County Council July 26.
The movement is quickly gaining support, with the Facebook event listing more than 2,000 attending guests within 48 hours. Xie said the group also canvassed for petition signatures at the midnight “Harry Potter” movie premiere Thursday night and was welcomed by support from youth and adults alike.
Xie said the group opposes the curfew for numerous reasons, and not simply because the kids want their freedom.
“A lot of local businesses that depend on revenue from youth, especially in the summer, will be deprived of this important revenue stream,” he said, and adults who resemble youth will also be forced to carry photo identification.
Not to mention, he added, that anyone under age 18 would have to be accompanied by a parent to attend a midnight movie premiere such as “Harry Potter.”
If passed, the measure would be the county’s first curfew and would prohibit anyone under age 18 from being in a public place between midnight and 5 a.m. on weekend nights and 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. Sunday through Thursday. Prince George’s County and the District of Columbia have similar curfews in place.
Leggett said the law is an effort to be proactive against youth crime, although overall crime is down in Montgomery County, dropping 7.5 percent in 2010.
The measure would fine parents who allow their children to violate the law, as well as business owners who allow youth to congregate in their business after curfew.
One of the complaints listed on the Facebook event is that Prince George’s County’s curfew allows youth to be in “a place of public entertainment, such as a movie, play, or sporting event,” but Montgomery County’s proposal does not include that provision. The youth might be willing to compromise if that kind of provision were added, said Xie, but ultimately, the curfew is an example of “age-based discrimination” and an ineffective way to fight crime.
“In the end we all have the same goals — to reduce crime, to keep kids safe,” Xie said. But as the age group most directly affected, “we have a greater understanding of how exactly to deal with this issue.”
