Dear supporters, In anticipation of the Baltimore City Delegation once again taking up these bills, I have forwarded your signatures and comments to them today. Below is the text of my letter. Please be sure to contact your delegates and state senator directly. You can locate the contact information here: http://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/07leg/html/gacobcit.html If you don't live in Baltimore City but do live in Maryland and want to contact your elected officials, you can look up your representatives here: http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/webmga/frmmain.aspx?pid=legisrpage&tab=subject6 Dear members of the Baltimore City Delegation, As a parent of a Baltimore City public school student, I am writing today to deliver for your consideration the attached petition to the Baltimore City Public School's board to withdraw SB17/HB101. As you are aware, BCPS requested these bills be introduced on their behalf without any input from parents and the larger school community. At your request, the school board held a hearing on the bill but provided less than one week's notice to the community and scheduled the hearing at a very difficult time for parents to attend. Because of that, I started this petition on Change.org to give parents a voice. Since that time less than a week ago, over 1,400 signatures have been collected. Because of the recent news media coverage, the petition has reached beyond the borders of Maryland and people from around the country have signed on simply to express their opposition to guns in schools. I understand that your focus would be on the Marylanders that signed the petition and as of this time, 916 of the collected signatures are from Maryland. I've also attached the comments made by signers of this petition to make sure their concerns are fully expressed. The petition will remain active until the bill is withdrawn or defeated. You can find the petition here: https://www.change.org/p/school-board-of-baltimore-city-public-schools-withdrawal-sb17-hb101-baltimore-city-school-police-force-carrying-of-firearms-scope. I appreciate the complexity of this issue and the many voices that want to be a part of the dialogue regarding school security. Because that dialogue has not taken place, I ask you, along with all those that have signed this petition, to withdraw this bill from consideration during this year's General Assembly session and require the BCPS administration and school board to have a meaningful dialogue with parents and the larger school community on issues of school discipline and safety protocols. Thank you for your consideration.