Since July 2011, when Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett proposed a youth curfew to the Montgomery County Council for passage, debate has raged over the issue.

On Tuesday, Nov. 15, Councilmember Phil Andrews, who has opposed the youth curfew bill since its proposal, added to the debate by proposing a new anti-loitering bill. He believes the no loitering bill would serve as an alternative to the youth curfew bill.

The youth curfew, if passed, would restrict people under the age of 18 from being in public places after midnight on Friday and Saturday nights and after 11 p.m. on Mondays through Thursdays. The recently proposed loitering bill, however, would target people of all ages and at all times of day from “remain[ing] in a public place or establishment at a time or in a manner not usual for law-abiding persons under circumstances that warrant a justifiable and reasonable alarm or immediate concern for the safety of persons or property in the vicinity,” according to the Montgomery County Council’s website.

Both proposals have been criticized by dissenters who believe that racial profiling could result from either bill becoming law. The ACLU has also criticized the anti-loitering bill by saying that the bill’s vague wording could lead to the arrests of citizens without the police having probable cause.

The County Council is set to vote on the youth curfew bill on Dec. 6.