Dan's Rant: Leggett & MoCo: Let the Kids Play!
Welcome to this parenting police state of MoCo, MD. [Photo courtesy of freefoto.com]
“A D.C-based law firm will file suit and pursue 'all legal remedies' to protect the rights of the Maryland parents whose two young children were taken into custody for more than five hours Sunday after someone reported them as they made their way home unsupervised from a Silver Spring park, the firm said Tuesday.
Danielle and Alexander Meitiv were 'rightfully outraged by the irresponsible actions” of Maryland Child Protective Services and Montgomery County police, said attorney Matthew Dowd, of the firm Wiley Rein, in a written statement.
“We must ask ourselves how we reached the point where a parent’s biggest fear is that government officials will literally seize our children off the streets as they walk in our neighborhoods,” he said.
Read the full article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/free-range-parents-plan-to-file-lawsuit-after-police-pick-up-children/2015/04/14/ed4f7658-e2b7-11e4-b510-962fcfabc310_story.html
Dan's Take: This is outrageous! These kids walked three blocks to play in a park, and were on their way home before they were stopped. These poor kids have now been through a traumatic experience, being detained by police and MoCo CPS for hours on end. Where does the government's role end here?
County Executive Ike Leggett, please let the kids play without being harassed!! And I hope the parents win a big in court for this absurdity!! Our children need to be playing more in parks. Isn't that what our parks and our tax dollars are for? To promote healthy outdoor recreation? Regarding supervision, while it is natural to ensure that a child gets home safely, these kids were not lost. They were walking home, using a route they'd done before (just with their parents). If the streets of MoCo are that unsafe, then where are our tax dollars going? The powers-that-be want it both ways: either our streets truly are safe and basically crime-free (so much so that two children can safely journey home from a park during daylight hours) or our streets are truly in disrepair and there needs to be a greater emphasis on public safety and more money allocated to that. Which is it?
