Maryland Rep. Critiques Democrats Over Tampon Bill
Maryland Representative Kathy Scheriga (R-Baltimore County) is voicing her concerns about a bill backed by Maryland Democrats that would mandate the availability of tampons in men’s restrooms at state buildings. She believes this reflects a misallocation of priorities in Annapolis.
Scheriga expressed her skepticism regarding HB 941 during a recent House session, raising questions about which public facilities would be impacted. She specifically asked if major professional sports venues, like the ones for the Ravens and Orioles, would need to comply. Furthermore, she challenged the bill’s phrasing on the necessity of “appropriately sized tampons.”
“What’s the right size tampon?” she quipped, eliciting laughter from some of her peers. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that. What’s considered appropriate?”
In response, Representative Ken Kerr, a Democrat from Frederick County, clarified that the bill simply ensures tampon availability without specifying size. Scheriga retorted that if this were true, the bill should have stated that instead of focusing on size specifics.
Shifting her focus, Scheriga pressed for clarification on which public buildings would be affected, including significant sites like the football stadium where the Baltimore Ravens play and Camden Yards, home to the Baltimore Orioles. Both venues are under the jurisdiction of the Maryland Stadium Authority.
Kerr acknowledged that if the venue is state-owned, it would fall under the bill’s requirement. However, he refrained from elaborating on the issue. “If Raven Stadium qualifies as a state building, then yes, that would apply… Similarly for Oriole Park,” he said.
In a discussion, Scheriga pointed out that this isn’t the first attempt by Democrats to place tampons in men’s restrooms. She suggested that this initiative might be influenced by external pressures rather than local priorities.
“It seems there’s a fascination with feminine hygiene products from Annapolis to Congress. It appears to originate from a national trend, and now they’re taking it to an unprecedented level,” Scheriga remarked.
She recalled previous bills that had targeted college and university settings, stating that Republicans could have narrow-focused measures on university health centers instead of extending this to all public buildings.
Scheriga further indicated that the latest proposal aims to provide tampons in all public restrooms, including those in men’s facilities, potentially impacting infrastructure like M&T Bank Stadium and Baltimore-Washington International Airport.
“The financial report on the bill notes a status of ‘undecided’ since many state-owned buildings are involved, with taxpayers expected to shoulder the costs.”
Scheriga expressed frustration over the lack of efforts to address Maryland’s considerable budget deficit while prioritizing this issue of stocking tampons in men’s restrooms, a move she believes carries significant unknown costs.
“Even if we were to pass some expenses onto consumers, we’ll still face considerable administrative costs to supply tampons in men’s restrooms,” she stated, adding that Democrats could not even clarify how many state buildings would be affected by the bill.
In a broader critique, she concluded that this bill is similar to initiatives seen in heavily Democratic states facing stagnation in their legislative agendas. “Instead of tackling real issues like soaring expenses and utilities that residents struggle to afford, we’re shifting focus to seemingly trivial matters.”
The proposed legislation to enable tampon access in men’s restrooms was put forward on February 5 by a group of Democratic delegates and has yet to pass through both houses of the state assembly.
