Lauren Arikan

Social media use

In June 2024, Arikan and three other Republican lawmakers signed onto a letter to the superintendent of Baltimore County Public Schools calling for the termination of Alexa Sciuto, a LGBTQIA+ advocate who taught at Baltimore County Schools. In the letter, the legislators alleged that Sciuto made death threats toward Kit Hart, the chair of the Carroll County Moms for Liberty chapter, citing a tweet from Sciuto that read, "Officer, I swear I didn't mean to murder her" above a picture of Hart. Sciuto had made the post after Hart failed to clearly define the word "woke" during a parents' rights panel in Towson. In June 2025, Sciuto filed a defamation lawsuit against the lawmakers, multiple Moms for Liberty members, and Libs of TikTok, claiming that her tweet was rhetorical and that the lawmakers had mischaracterized it as a death threat.^[16] Sciuto's lawsuit against the lawmakers was dismissed in April 2026.^[17]

In June 2025, Arikan criticized a public dispute as "the gayest thing that's happened this Pride Month" while criticizing Pride-themed Maryland Transit Administration merchandise. In June 2026, Maryland Democratic Party chairman Steuart Pittman criticized Arikan for posting a photo on Facebook of her standing beside a "Welcome to West Virginia" sign while carrying a handgun on her hip with the caption "My Glock and I are marked safe from Wes Moore's Gay Gun Laws", accusing her of using "gay" as a slur. When asked about the criticism by The Baltimore Sun, Arikan defended her comments by saying that Maryland Democrats should "leave the speech policing to the third world dictators", but did not address the claim that she used the term derogatorily.^[18]

Crime

During the 2026 legislative session, Arikan opposed a bill that would end the practice of automatically charging minors as adults for certain crimes, saying that the bill would allow people that are organizing crime in Maryland to use children to "get away with it" and sends a message that the state is soft on crime.^[19]

Education

Arikan opposes mask mandates in schools.^[20][21] In August 2021, she attended an anti-mask rally outside a meeting for the Harford County school board.^[22][23] During the 2021 legislative session, Arikan introduced legislation that would allow parents living in districts that do not offer full in-person instruction by Fall 2021 to apply to receive the amount the state spends per child in public school to spend on private school tuition.^[24][25]

During the 2022 legislative session, Arikan opposed a bill that would create an Institute for Public Leadership at the University of Maryland.^[26]

In April 2023, Arikan sent a letter to State Superintendent Mohammed Choudhury accusing the Maryland State Department of Education of hiding scores from failing scores by altering data files available on the department's website. An investigation conducted by the state inspector general found no evidence of these claims.^[27]

Elections

Arikan supports the use of voter IDs in elections^[28] and placing restrictions on mail-in voting.^[29]

Housing

Arikan opposed legislation that would temporarily place restrictions on when landlords could evict their tenants until April 2022, and another that would guarantee low-income tenants a right to counsel in eviction cases, saying that she would sell her rental properties if the bills were enacted, instead investing in rental property in Pennsylvania.^[30][31]

Immigration

During the 2026 legislative session, Arikan opposed a bill prohibiting counties from entering into 287(g) program agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, saying that the ban would "allow illegal criminals who are actually hurting, raping, murdering people in our state" and criticizing Democrats for making the bill a priority over other issues such as electric bills.^[32] She also opposed a bill that allows the attorney general of Maryland to use data collected through police surveillance methods to identify and gather evidence against a judicial officer if someone brought a complaint of wrongful conduct.^[33] In April 2026, Arikan called on President Donald Trump to slash federal funding to jurisdictions who attempt to restrict federal immigration enforcement.^[34]

National politics

In May 2024, Arikan signed onto a letter condemning the jury's guilty verdict in the Trump hush money trial, calling the ruling a "political prosecution from a kangaroo court and left-leaning prosecutor" that is turning the U.S. justice system into a "third world parody of law and order".^[35]

In February 2025, Arikan defended the Trump administration's mass firing of federal employees, saying that jobs aren't "guaranteed" and changing careers was "just a part of life".^[36] In November 2025, she criticized lawsuits filed by the attorney general of Maryland against the Trump administration, calling the lawsuits "politically motivated more than policy motivated" and a waste of taxpayer dollars.^[37]

In February 2026, Arikan said she opposed mid-decade redistricting, criticizing Texas, Missouri, and California for redrawing their districts as well as proposals to redraw Maryland's congressional districts.^[38] In August 2026, during debate on a proposed constitutional amendment on redistricting in Maryland, she introduced an amendment that would allow members of the Maryland General Assembly to face civil liability charges if a court found that a congressional map passed by the General Assembly deprived voters of federal constitutional rights.^[39]

Policing

During the 2026 legislative session, Arikan opposed a bill that would prohibit law enforcement officers from wearing face coverings while on duty.^[40]

Social issues

Arikan supports midwifery and is the founder of the Birth Circle of Baltimore.^[41] In March 2022, Arikan proposed an amendment to abortion rights legislation that would ban abortion services based on the gender of the fetus. The amendment failed by a vote of 40–86.^[42]

In March 2020, Arikan voted against a measure to kill legislation that would allow for liquor sales in Baltimore County on Sundays. The measure was approved by a vote of 14-4.^[43]

During the 2022 legislative session, Arikan opposed legislation that would ban threats made against health officials and hospital workers, saying that she received death threats during her first session in the General Assembly but "nothing ever came of it" after reporting it to law enforcement.^[44]

In February 2025, Arikan opposed a bill to repeal the prohibition of selling condoms in public school vending machines, saying that the bill is "the kind of stuff that makes swing states go red" and questioning why the bill would allow such vending machines to be installed in preschools.^[45]

During the 2026 legislative session, Arikan opposed cuts to the Developmental Disabilities Administration. In March 2026, she proposed an amendment to the state budget that would restore $150 million in funding the DDA by eliminating programs to assist students in private colleges as well as cuts to state funding to the Business Enterprise Administration and the Maryland Zoo. The amendment was rejected.^[46]

In May 2026, amid calls for state delegates Brian Chisholm and Mark N. Fisher to apologize to state delegate Chao Wu after using racist stereotypes, derogatory terms, and accusing Wu of being a spy for the Chinese Communist Party during an episode of Fisher's "Dumbest Bills in America" video series, Arikan defended the lawmakers, saying that the video was "factual" and not racist.^[47]