Families dressed as superheroes lobby for sick-leave bill

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Early Thursday morning, moms and children gathered inside the Miller Senate building at tables littered with paper groundhogs and markers, but this Groundhog's Day gathering was no celebration for Punxsutawney Phil.

Instead, the group of fewer than 20, each dressed up in a cape featuring a logo for family-advocacy group MomsRising, gathered to show legislators their support for a paid sick-leave bill, HB1, the Maryland Healthy Working Families Act.

After about half an hour, the group left and marched to the State House. By the time they arrived their numbers had more than doubled as they met other "heroes" on the walk.

Some state senators and delegates they encountered hurried past, others stopped by to chat, and two stole the show: Delegate Luke Clippinger, D-Montgomery, showed up wearing a mask and cape and Sen. Thomas Middleton, D-Charles, wore a cape. Clippinger is a co-sponsor of the Maryland Healthy Working Families Act, and Middleton is a co-sponsor of the Senate companion bill, SB230.

Read more: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-paid-leave-superheroes-20170202-story.html