And why no other state is following its example. – Last week, California officials announced that the state would allow some sex offenders to live within 2,000 feet of schools and parks for the first time since 2006, making it easier for them to find housing. High-risk sex offenders and those whose crimes involved children under the age of 14 will still be subject to the residency restrictions, which were introduced as part of a voter-initiative known as as Jessica’s Law—but all others will be granted exemptions on a case-by-case basis. Full Article
California’s Sane New Approach to Sex Offenders
- ·April 2, 2015
- ·12 Comments
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The comments to this Slate article are a MUST READ. What do you think?
There is a lot of denial and rationalization. It takes awhile for people to accept anything that questions their firmly held belief. I recognize that in myself on occasion, when some fact challenges my preconceptions, it takes time, so I’ll give them some credit for being human . They have been told one thing again and again, that people who commit sex crimes are irredeemably. The mention of children is an emotional trigger to justify their prejudice , and what I hear from the commenters is that the registry must be applied to someone. It just can’t be that it is basically useless. There must be a “child molester” or a “rapist” that these laws apply to. I hear it now and again in this column. It is an attempt to re-use the disgust factor and call it reason. They will say “surely these people can’t be rehabilitated.” Santa Claus really does exist, if only for the sake of mothers and children and all that is wholesome. How can one argue this ? You can’t.
Yes, good article and good comments! And “Slate.com” is read very widely, so this article will certainly help move the conversation forward. I think as more people start really considering the effects and failure of registries, things may start to change.
Bottom line, Mr. and Ms. Taxpayer: you are getting NOTHING for your tax dollars when it comes to sex offender registries. Your children are no safer because of registries and you’re fooling yourself to think registries make them safer. Proper parenting, training, and awareness make them safer – not a bloated, ineffective list of people who have already paid their debts to society IN FULL!
I think this is a great thing that has happened. But We must remember that this is just a drop in the bucket and there is still allot of hill left to climb. The one statement that struck me the most and actually angered me because it’s true is.
“It’s just all the rhetoric around the registry is about children.”
This statement show’s how depraved the proponents and promoters of the registry and all the accompanying laws aimed at registrants actually is. The presstitutes and bottom feeding politicians never mention all the acts that land people on the registry that have nothing to do with “sex” at all. To them it’s in their best intere$t to call all victims of their ambitions “pedo”, “predator”, “perv”, “monstor”, etc. These people may not look like it, but they are the lowest form of morally corrupt people that this society needs to be rid of, yet they are held in the highest regard; how sick is that?.
Given that California has a life-time registry for all, regardless of the original offense or current threat, it is truly amazing that a reporter can accurately state that California has a sane new approach to registered citizens. We can only hope this sanity will spread and lead us to a tiered registry as well as recognition that the requirement to register as a sex offender is punishment, and not the same as or similar to applying for membership at Price Club.
Well, if they recognize that registration is punishment, the sane thing to do is not bother with a tiered registry but do away with it all together.
I signed up at Price Club there other day. They didn’t take my fingerprints, they didn’t belittle me, the didn’t publicly shame me. My membership didn’t restrict me from international travel. It didn’t disallow me from getting an SBA loan. It didn’t prevent me from being on Facebook. It didn’t keep me from taking my kids to the park. But I do get a discount on groceries 🙂
…And you can get a sam’s club membership and keep your price club and have even more freedom.
OK; since you put it that way I won’t say “there’s nothing sane about California.” But isn’t the definition of insanity something like “doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results?” Things like continually passing completely useless laws that do absolutely nothing their authors and proponents claim they will do?
Its the same! Lmao
I am thinking of having a copy of Emily Horowitz Book “Protecting Our Kids? How Sex Offender Laws Are Failing Us” sent to George and Sharon Runner!
Jo, you forgot to mention that if you fail to renew your Price Club membership, you don’t get arrested and charged with a felony!