It's becoming a daily occurrence in the Maryland State Legislature. Bills are proposed that support parental rights and they barely make it out of committee. Bills are proposed that demolish parental rights and they are overwhelmingly passed along party lines, proving once again that the Democrat majority in the House and Senate do NOT support the rights of parents to have a say in the lives and education of their children.

The usual suspects are always the ones at the forefront against parents. Vanessa Atterbeary, Democrat from Howard County, seems to have designated herself as "she who will be obeyed." She and her cohorts view the issue of parental rights as more of a power play than anything else. After all, she keeps reminding us that she has children too, and that she understands what parents go through. But, she keeps demanding that parents must defer to the state when it comes to raising and educating their children. She wants the State, and people like her, to have all the power.

She's a hypocrite. Vanessa Atterbeary will never have to fight for the right to direct the upbringing or education of HER children regardless of the law. No school, no teacher would ever go up against a powerful State Delegate. Only the average citizen will have to deal with that and, according to the state, lose every time.

But, like most Marxist Progressives, being a hypocrite is fine with her as long as she gets to be in charge.

In 2023, Atterbeary proposed a bill to force all counties to teach health and sex education exactly as the state wants it taught or else face denial of 20% of their state school funding. The bill did have an opt out for parents who didn't want their children taught the Family Life and Human Sexuality or Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation topics but forced them to be taught the AIDS and STD units.

At first, it seemed the bill would sail through the legislature until the Maryland Association of Boards of Education, Boards of Education across the state, and the Maryland State Board of Education all protested. The heat was too much and the bill didn't pass as Atterbeary and then State Superintendent Choudhury wanted it to. They even attempted to apply the bill to ALL curricula. That died quickly.

Choudhury resigned his position in the Fall of 2023. Unfortunately, Atterbeary is still in office.

So she brought the bill back this year in the form of HB 558. Only this time, she didn't want parents to be able to opt out of anything BUT the Family Life and Human Sexuality topic. Here is the bill:

2024 Regular Session - House Bill 558 Third Reader (maryland.gov)

If you take notice of all the strikethroughs, these are changes that were made to the bill prior to it being passed yesterday. Here is one paragraph in particular:

SUBJECT TO SUBPARAGRAPHS (II) AND (III) OF THIS
12 PARAGRAPH, EACH COUNTY BOARD SHALL ESTABLISH POLICIES, GUIDELINES, AND
13 PROCEDURES FOR A PARENT OR GUARDIAN TO OPT OUT OF THE FAMILY LIFE AND
14 HUMAN SEXUALITY OR THE GENDER IDENTITY AND SEXUAL ORIENTATION TOPICS
15 TOPIC FOR THE PARENT’S OR GUARDIAN’S STUDENT IN EACH GRADE IN WHICH
16 THOSE TOPICS ARE THE TOPIC IS TAUGHT.

Now, a parent who doesn't want their child taught that there are more than two genders, who doesn't want their child to be manipulated into believing that they might be the "wrong gender" or that they can change gender just because they want to, that parent will have their child taught that belief regardless.

When the bill came to a vote, not ONE DEMOCRAT voted against it. NOT ONE.

It's just another in a long line of bills that have gone against parents in Maryland.

There is hope, even though it is slight. Delegate Lauren Arikan, Republican, Harford County, has proposed HB 722. This bill would forbid health care providers from providing any transgender medical procedures, commonly called, "gender affirming care" to minors without parental knowledge and consent. Maryland is one of five states that allows children 12 and up to consent to medical procedures without parental knowledge or consent. Sponsors for HB 722 include 16 Republicans and 3 Democrats. From the Daily Signal:

Bipartisan Maryland Bill Would Restrict Child Trans Procedures (dailysignal.com)

The bill was scheduled for hearing on February 21, 2024. As of today, there is no update on the Maryland Legislative website regarding its status. However, it is likely that the bill will be brought up for a second hearing in the Health and Government Operations Committee.

Other articles on the topic of denial of parental rights/dangers of gender transition therapies:

They Really Think The Children Belong To The State Not The Parents - Easton Gazette

A Parent's Nightmare - Easton Gazette

Detransitioner to Lawmakers: 'Please Let Me Be Your Final Warning' (dailysignal.com)

Save kids from trans-crazy doctors or expect more tragedies (nypost.com)

NY Times vindicates trans-clinic whistleblower Jamie Reed — Keep up the scrutiny (nypost.com)