by Bethany Van Waes ’12

Last July, Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett posed a bill to impose a curfew on teens throughout Montgomery County. The proposal, which would make it generally illegal for those younger than 18 to be outside late at night, was met with vocal opposition from teens and some Montgomery County Council members raised their own concerns about a teen curfew. On December 9, lawmakers voted 6 to 3 to delay action on the curfew plan.

Between July and December, the legislation sparked a large debate about whether it is reasonable to have a curfew on youth and whether or not it would reduce crime, which is Leggett’s goal. Leggett became worried about crime due to a stabbing in Silver Spring over the summer, and he hoped to avoid such tragedies in the future by proposing the bill. The bill would have caused those younger than 18 to be off the street and in a residence by 11 p.m. during the week and by 12 a.m. on the weekends.

The legislators took the law off the table for now, but sometime in the next 18 months they may pick it up again and vote on it. Chances are, according to The Washington Post, that amendments will have to be made before the bill is adopted by the county.

According to The Gazette, the issue is unlikely to go away and Leggett’s administration has promised to continue “pressing” for a vote. Also, rediscussing the bill would not require the council to go through the committee process and a public hearing, as they spent the past six months doing.

At the moment, teens are safe from the curfew, possibly leaving people to wonder what the fuss was all about since July.