A Young Person's Opinion: Montgomery County Curfew Would Hurt More Than Help

The Montgomery County Curfew is unfair. A law keeping young people under the age of 18 inside within certain hours, first and foremost, infringes upon our constitutional freedom. Everyone has the right and freedom to go out if they wish, and although some youths are involved in gangs, authorities do not have the right to take away that freedom. The bad behavior of some teens should not force all teens to suffer the constraints of certain time periods.

Teens deserve a break. During the school year we have school to focus on, and some people wonder why any young person would be out past 11 on a weeknight. It is true that there isn't much sense in being out late on a school night, but there special occasions where it happens. And what reasons are there that it shouldn't?

Being out late at night can be dangerous, and we realize that. We not only make sure our parents know where we are, but we focus on making responsible decisions about the places we go, and the people we hang out with. The proposed curfew turns our nighttime freedom into a crime. A special night away from the stresses of school should not be against the law

And what about the adult criminals out there? It is unfair that, under the proposed curfew, they would still be allowed out. There are plenty of kids out late at night who are not doing anything bad or wrong. Enforcing a curfew on us because of crimes we did not commit should not be a solution to the problem.

If a curfew were enforced upon upon those over the age of 18 because of robberies that happened to take place at night, people would be angry. It is out of the question to take away the freedoms of adults by controlling their whereabouts within certain hours. People would argue that they have to right to be out if they want to and no authority can take that away. It is obvious that it wouldn't work. If it is clear that an adult curfew wouldn't be fair, it should make sense that a curfew on youth is also unfair.

The curfew becomes more of an issue in the summer, when all of our friends are out of school. We love to see each other. We love to make spur of the moment decisions to walk to each other's houses and have sleepovers. We love to meet at the metro and go to concerts. This kind of nightlife is, in a way, part of our culture during the summer.

In the Washington Post, Lt. Robert Carter said that police wouldn't be targeting kids coming home from things like movies, or community events. But that isn't the point. The point is that we want to be able to walk to a friends house without breaking the law.

So many of us are responsible about going out and communicating with our parents. We make sure they know where we are and what we are doing and that's the way it should be. Taking our freedom to go out at night away from us is taking away an important part of our social lives.