...Wilson sponsored the 2017 bill that expanded the window to file a lawsuit from age 25 to age 38, and is sponsoring this year’s bill.
“We’ve been protecting institutions for generations and years,” Wilson said, deeming the situation “an emergency” that warrants action from lawmakers.
In an interview, Wilson said that abusers have had “legislative protection.” He noted that some Catholic priests accused of abuse in Pennsylvania relocated to Maryland, as outlined in a lengthy report released last year by Pennsylvania’s attorney general.
“Maryland was a repository for bad actors because we had soft laws,” Wilson said.
The delegates rejected an effort to remove that two-year window. Del. Kathleen Dumais argued that it would open the courts to a flood of lawsuits against schools, churches and even the government from long-ago incidents that would be difficult to defend. Dumais, a Montgomery County Democrat, said it would set the court system “on its head.”..
"In an interview, Wilson said that abusers have had 'legislative protection.'"
ReplyDeleteThe credit goes to the "legal technicality" crafters, drafters and last minute grafters.
Déjà vu:
ReplyDelete"The bill now moves to a final vote in the House of Delegates on Monday. If it passes the House, the measure would then move to the state Senate for consideration. The Senate does not have its own version of the bill."
Look what the same abuser abettors did to SB568, which would make it a misdemeanor for mandatory reporters to fail to report "actual knowledge" of child abuse, an impossible standard. Maryland is full of laws that "sound" good, but have no teeth.
ReplyDelete"The United States is a nation of laws: badly written and randomly enforced." -Frank Zappa
Delete