The pro-criminal lobby is apparently on a roll in Maryland. That state already has a relatively lenient rule on allowing convicted felons to vote. First offenders have their right to vote restored immediately upon completion of probation or parole, and even repeaters need wait only three years thereafter. Some states disenfranchise convicted felons for life. But even current Maryland law is not enough for some legislators and advocates, according to this story by Ovetta Wiggins in the Washington Post. Proponents of the change make the usual racial arguments.

Bishop Adam J. Richardson Jr. said it is "unconscionable" that 140,000 former offenders, including 8 percent of Maryland's black population, are disenfranchised because of the voting laws.

This argument commits the common fallacy of looking at people as faceless members of racial groups rather than as individuals with free will. The individuals who have lost their vote lost it by their individual choice to commit a serious crime. The group they belong to should be irrelevant in a society dedicated to judging people by the content of their character and not by the color of their skin.