Thanks for your time, 

Arianne 

I am Will Kully, and I am a 16-year-old student at Edmund Burke School and a Capitol Hill resident. I am writing to you about the bill that would allow 16-year-olds to vote. As a student, I have heard numerous stories from peers stating their view on the bill. Most of these views follow the basic formula of “I know many 16-year-olds who are definitely mature enough to vote,” and most of them also include “I know many 20-year-olds who are not mature enough to vote.” While this may very well be true, it is anecdotal and represents a vocal minority of 16-year-olds. In reality, there are millions of 16-year-olds in this country, and they are not all ready to vote. According to the “Kids Count” Data Center, there are 12,428,573 16-year-olds in the US. While this number is largely meaningless because of the lack of context, I use it to show the sheer number of people we are introducing into elections, most of who have no education about who they are voting for. I propose a solution. I suggest beginning mandatory non-partisan education about local officials every election year in high school. This education should show the officials, their core policies, and the party they support. While these students will not be able to vote until their senior year, they will, at that time, be familiar with their officials, and will also be able to fully understand their options when it comes time to fill out a ballot. This is not to suppress the voices of these 12,428,573 16-year-olds across the country. It is to prepare them for when it is their turn to determine the fate of the country so they can make choices that most align with their interests. 

Thank you,

Will Kully

My name is Hanh Fofana, I am 16 years old and I go to the Edmund Burke School in Washington D.C. However, I live in Montgomery County. I am writing to you because as a student and with the recent school shootings, I am very concerned about the subject of gun violence. Recently I found the Baltimore County - Public Schools - Active Assailant Event Training and Drills Bill which would require Baltimore Public schools’ faculty to have training on dealing with a school shooter in the event that a gun assault occurred. I would really like to see this bill passed because I do not want to see another school shooting to happen, especially in my home state. I feel very passionate about this topic because thinking about kids my age, who have so much ahead of them, being killed during a mass shooting is heartbreaking. I would really appreciate it if you could support and help pass this bill. 

Thanks you so much!

Sincerely, 
Hanh Fofana

My name is Ben McLenaghan. I’m a 17 year old student of the Edmund Burke School in DC, and I live in Bethesda. I am writing to ask you to change the specifics of the PLA (Maryland Parental Leave Act). While I think that it’s great that new mothers and fathers in Maryland get six weeks of leave, I think that leave should be paid. When my mother had me, she hadn’t saved up much money yet, and my older brother had some medical issues that cost a lot of money. This was before the PLA was passed, but luckily her company gave her leave, but it was unpaid. We had to live paycheck by paycheck because she didn’t receive pay on her leave, and she went back to work really before she should have because we needed the money. Please, Mr. Hogan, give new parents paid leave, they need it.Please respond to this email address when you have made a decision.

Thank you for your time,

Ben McLenaghan