Benjamin F. Kramer (born March 5, 1957) is an American politician who has represented the 19th legislative district in the Maryland Senate since 2019. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, Kramer previously served

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the legislature of the State of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House on State Circle in Annapolis, ...

from 2007 to 2019, representing Montgomery County.

Early life and education

Kramer is the son of former State Senator and former Montgomery County Executive

Sidney Kramer Sidney Kramer (July 8, 1925 – May 16, 2022) was an American politician in the state of Maryland. He served in the Maryland Senate and as county executive for Montgomery County. Early life and education Kramer was born in Washington, D.C., on ...

, and brother of former State Senator

Rona E. Kramer Rona E. Kramer is an American politician from Maryland, a member of the Democratic Party, and a former member of the Maryland State Senate. She finished serving her 2nd term in the Maryland State Senate, representing Maryland's District 14 in M ...

Political career

In 2012, Kramer was appointed by Maryland legislative leaders to a task force to study the impact of a Maryland Court of Appeals ruling regarding the liability of owners of pit bulls and landlords that rent to them.

Nazi Reference and Rebuke by Archbishop Desmond Tutu

In the 2014 Maryland legislative session, Delegate Kramer introduced legislation to prevent the use of public college and university funds to support scholarly involvement in academic organizations that have voted to boycott Israel. The legislation failed to get out of committee so Delegate Kramer added language as an amendment to the State's budget bill. On April 2, 2014, Archbishop

Desmond Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop ...

of South Africa issued a statement expressing "grave concern" over the effort and also over Delegate Kramer's remarks comparing the boycott movement against Israel to the actions of the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

in Germany.

Legislative Notes

* Awarded the MADD Visionary Award for his service and efforts to pass the Drunk Driving Elimination Act during the 2010 Maryland legislative session. * Voted in favor of in-state tuition for Maryland nonresidents who can demonstrate payment of Maryland withholding tax in 2007 (HB6) * Was a sponsor of, and strongly pursued enactment of, 2010 HB 756, the "Maryland Gang Prosecution Act of 2010."

References

External links

* * Democratic Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates Living people 1957 births People from Wheaton, Maryland 21st-century American politicians Democratic Party Maryland state senators {{Maryland-politician-stub