Commentary

Elder abuse and exploitation is a silent crisis affecting every corner of our country. Whether it is mistreatment at an assisted living facility or a parent exploited by an adult child, elder injustice is happening more often than you might think. Each year in the United States, hundreds of thousands of adults older than 60 are physically or psychologically abused, neglected or financially exploited, and 1 out of every 10 older adults experience elder abuse.

So there I was, reclined on my couch, watching the Orioles play the Twins, when this commercial comes on about Dan Cox, Republican candidate for governor of Maryland. It has menacing movie music, the sounds of clanging steel and kabooms. Definitely gets my attention. Suddenly there’s a thumbs-up picture of the former president, Donald Trump, with Cox, standing in what appears to be the Oval Office. The narrator says Cox is Trump’s “hand-picked candidate for Maryland governor.”

The final days of the Supreme Court’s recently concluded term brought several significant constitutional decisions, including Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization which overturned Roe v. Wade, and Kennedy v. Bremerton School District which “abandoned” Lemon v. Kurtzman. Notwithstanding the majority’s disclaimer in Dobbs that the decision does not impact constitutional rights other than the right to an abortion, Justice Clarence Thomas’s concurring opinion portends further rights being overturned in the coming years.

In response to the June 27 op-ed (Prince George’s County Needs to Address the School Staffing Crisis – Now), I would like to address some inaccuracies about our work to recruit and retain educators in Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS). I agree with the Prince George’s County Educators Association that the status quo is unacceptable, which is why my administration and the Prince George’s County Board of Education have offered unprecedented employee raises this year and essentially overhauled the current PGCEA contract by agreeing to more than 80 new terms.

Last week, David Frum wrote a fascinating article for The Atlantic comparing our current abortion battle to Prohibition, another contentious issue that bitterly divided the nation. After a long, “titanic” struggle, the temperance movement succeeded in imposing a nationwide ban on alcohol — only to have it decline and collapse 13 years later. This may happen with abortion bans, but hopefully it won’t take that long.

When it comes to enforcing state regulations, Maryland’s Office of the Attorney General is where matters turn serious. It’s one thing for a state regulatory agency to issue a ticket or warning; it’s quite another to take a violator to court, which is where the dozens of lawyers working for Attorney General Brian E. Frosh come in. From environmental crimes to Medicaid fraud, Mr. Frosh and his team stand ready to investigate and prosecute scofflaws, big and small, wherever they might be found, from Oakland to Ocean City. There’s been one major hitch in the system in recent years, however. That would be a lack of referrals.

The U.S. Congress has passed a bipartisan gun safety bill, representing the first federal gun safety legislation to be passed in a generation. The legislation, which has been signed into law by President Joe Biden, is limited in scope. But among its provisions is the closing of the so-called “boyfriend loophole” which allows some people with a record of domestic violence to still buy firearms. Under current federal legislation, intimate partner relationships are defined only as those in which two people are or were married, live or lived together as a couple, or have a child together. People who were in a dating relationship are largely excluded from this definition.

The onslaught against women’s rights doesn’t end with the overturning of Roe v. Wade; it begins with it. And what comes next will threaten every gain that has been made for women’s rights in America over the last five decades. It will reduce our economic prosperity, limit our educational achievement and employment access, and increase our risk of being victims of intimate partner violence — not to mention the risks associated with back-alley abortion procedures. New state laws will have dire consequences for women whose pregnancies are nonviable and possibly even those experiencing miscarriages, which could be seen as suspected abortions in states where access is restricted.