Maryland Lawmakers are considering legislation that would require all colleges and universities to use affirmative consent as their standard for defining sexual assault. House Bill 1142 defines affirmative consent as a clear, unambiguous, knowing, informed, and voluntary agreement between all participants. Lack of protest, lack of resistance, or silence does not indicate consent. The bill further clarifies that a student cannot give consent when asleep, unconscious, or incapacitated due to the influence of drugs, alcohol. The bill is being introduced into the state legislature, as four colleges in Maryland face federal investigation for their mishandling of sexual assault cases. 1 in 5 women will be raped while attending college in the United States. This legislation is necessary to fight the crisis of campus sexual assault!
TAKE ACTION!
Rally for Consent!
Join the Monument Quilt for a rally in Annapolis on Monday Feb 29th at 6:15pm at Lawyer’s Mall.
Email your Maryland State representative and tell them to support HB 1142 TODAY!
Look up your Maryland state representatives using your address here OR look up your Maryland state representatives by the name of your college or university here.
Then, email your lawmakers using this template letter.
Organize a letter writing campaign at your school!
Get a group of friends or members of your student group together to write letters on behalf of the Maryland affirmative consent bill. It’s easy to make your voice heard!
Before your meeting: send out a reminder to your attendees, make sure you have paper, pens, envelopes, and stamps, print letter templates and delegate address list
At your meeting: give participants time to brainstorm openings for their letter, answer any questions about the bill using our talking points, collect completed letters
After your meeting: mail your completed letters to Maryland Delegates and Senators from your school mailroom or local post office, pat yourself on the back for supporting affirmative consent
Don’t have time to host a meeting? You can also set up a virtual campaign! Email your group members and ask them to write an email to a delegate using the letter template. They can find their delegates’ emails on the delegate address list.