Maryland State Delegate Kathy Szeliga (R) criticized a bill passed by the state’s House of Delegates that would repeal a ban on condoms being sold in vending machines at schools, describing it as “oversexualization” of children.
House Bill 380 (H.B. 380), which was sponsored by Maryland State Delegate Nicole Williams (D), would allow all schools in the state — preschools, elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools — to have the option to sell contraceptives like condoms through “a vending machine or other automatic” devices, according to the Baltimore Sun.
The bill, which was passed in a vote of 89-41, would also repeal the criminal penalty for selling contraceptives like condoms in vending machines at schools. According to the bill’s text, a person in violation “is guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction is subject to a fine not exceeding $1,000.”
“Condoms for kiddies,” Szeliga said prior to H.B. 380 being passed. “This goes too far. So, next year, we’re going to have a bill regulating what can go in these condom machines. What color can the wrappers be? What words can go on the wrappers?”
“I mean, imagine walking into pre-school with your three, four, five-year-old. You walk by the machine, and they say, ‘Mommy, daddy, what’s in that machine?’ Or, they’re learning to read, and you’re having to explain to them, what those words mean. This is the oversexualization of our children, and it just goes too far,” Szeliga added.
The Baltimore Sun noted that H.B. 380 “does not mandate that schools sell condoms or other contraceptive devices in their vending machines.”
Prior to the bill being passed, Williams defended the bill, explaining that “all it does is remove a criminal penalty,” according to the outlet.
“It’s not setting policy. It’s not dictating to anyone what they should or should not do, or to any of our school systems,” Williams added. “All we’re doing is removing a misdemeanor from our criminal law article.”
While Williams defended the bill, Maryland State Delegate Mark Fisher (R) and Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) also criticized the bill.
“Why would a kindergartener need a condom?” Fisher questioned in a post on X. “Perhaps you should ask Delegate Williams, who introduced HB 380. The bill allows condoms to be given to children in elementary school without consequence or penalty.”
“The craziness of the Democrat-controlled Maryland General Assembly goes on,” Harris wrote in a post on X. “The House of Delegates is about to pass HB380 — a bill that makes it legal to sell condoms in preschools and kindergartens. When will the craziness end?”