A Motion for Preliminary Injunction was filed on February 19 asking the U.S. District Court to stop implementation of International Megan’s Law (formerly HR 515 and now Public Law 114-119). If granted, the motion would temporarily prohibit the federal government from both adding a conspicuous, unique identifier to the passports of registrants and notifying foreign countries of registrants’ plans to travel internationally.
Six declarations were Included with the Motion, including declarations from the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA), Dr. Tom Tobin of Sharper Future and criminal defense attorney Alex Landon. The declarations of by ATSA and Dr. Tobin included statements that International Megan’s Law will not halt child sex trafficking and could result in significant harm to hundreds of thousands of registrants.
“We are grateful for the support of ATSA in our efforts to stop implementation of International Megan’s Law,” stated CA RSOL president Janice Bellucci. ATSA is an international organization dedicated to preventing sexual abuse through research, evidence-based practice, public policy and community strategies that lead to the effective assessment, treatment, and management of individuals who have sexually abused or are at risk to abuse.
A hearing date of March 30 was requested when the motion was filed. The federal government’s response to the motion is currently due on March 4, however, both dates could be postponed if the government requests a delay.
Related
Motion for Preliminary Injunction
Let’s keep our fingers crossed on this, it’s HUGE. I will be directly affected by this, as I have relatives in foreign countries, and now that I’m getting older I really want to see them and keep the relationship alive because we are all getting on in years. There are also other things I hope to do some day, like visit ancient monolithic structures and other historic sites. As I’ve stated in other post’s on this site; “our government in turning into a Nazi government in all but name. I pray God sees fit to stop this through the efforts of Janice et-al.
Not directly on point, but the Apple protests against the FBI lawsuit is proof, along with opposition to HR515, that the world is getting fed up with the U,S. Government’s invasion of individual rights. We need to unite and show that the end is coming, but not for us,but for weak cowardly officials and their perverted world view. The world, outside of the countries with so called “Christian values” are tired of the arogance and bullying by our government. They support Americans, but not America.
Awesome, awesome, awesome! I can’t say that enough. Thanks so much Janice and everyone involved in this case. Another donation is coming at you!
I heard Senator Dianne Feinstein on the radio yesterday. She commented on terrorism and serious threats to our country that she is privy to as a Senator on the Intelligence Committee. She noted that the public would be very concerned if they knew of these threats. And yet, the pandering politicians continue to pass bad laws like
IML, wasting valuable time and resources on non-threat Registered Citizens.
Good luck! I hope it works. If it fails, I am going to write a letter to the leader of Iran requesting asylum, pointing out that I am a naval combat veteran and have an extremely intimate working knowledge of power grids, power plants and the software associated with them. That should make me appealing for employment in Iran as they rebuild their nation, skills Americans have decided they do not want from me.
Love your country, fear your government.
The reason a majority of people support stigmatization is because of lies spread and re-enforced by media public opinion manipulators. If the message of low re-offense recidivism, second only to murderers, is the message, then more people would support RSO reform. But let’s look at the numbers…70% supported Jessica’s law, and 30% voted NO on it. Back then in 2006, the low recidivism numbers were even less known of. Since then, a lot of propaganda has been slung at RSO’s, as in false states of emergency declared on bills that have stalled for 7-8 years, where obviously there is no state of emergency that involves registrants in any way. But still, if the low recidivism numbers became more widely known, I think a majority would favor RSO reform. RSO reform is good for society since counter-productiveness is bad for society.
Erosion
I like to picture it like this:
Imagine if you own a bit of land along a river. There are several land-owners up the river from you. But at the mouth of the river, that land owner notices that erosion has started to effect his land, and he seems to have less and less of it by the month. You, on the other hand, a few miles down river, are oblivious to this fact because the erosion isn’t bothering you.
However, after time, the next land-owner is affected; then the next, and then the next. All of a sudden, erosion is something that concerns you because it’s taking away your land. Now, instead of being insulated by it, you now feel that erosion must be stopped.
This is how our liberties disappear. No one cares about the RSO’s losing their liberty… they are far away from the “good people” in society. But just as erosion slowly eats away at the RSO’s liberty, it slowly and surely creeps its way toward the average citizenry. Sadly, by that time, it’s too late to stop.
Be aware, people! When erosion starts at the extremities of society, it will eventually find its way to you. Unconstitutional laws and legislative over-reaches must be stopped before they begin. Thank you Janice!
it’s the Federal Government that has become the beast– they have no business in State jurisdiction and only 16 or so states have bought into their AWA; my opinion this war will only be won at the Federal level, as that is where sociopath legislators are becoming emboldened.
The history of the Federal government who is not close to the problem becomes the problem–let the States alone!
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF SEX OFFENDER LAWS
FEDERAL LAWS
1994 – The Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act, part of the Omnibus Crime Bill of 1994, established guidelines for states to track sex offenders and required states to track sex offenders for 10 years after their release or for the rest of their lives if convicted of a violent sex crime.
1996 – Megan’s Law provided for the public dissemination of information from states’ sex offender registries. Most states passed a similar law in the mid-90s, which required state and local law enforcement agencies to release relevant information necessary to protect the public about persons registered for any purpose permitted under a state law.
1996 – The Pam Lychner Sex Offender Tracking and Identification Act of 1996 established the National Sex Offender Registry, or ‘NSOR’, for the FBI to track certain sex offenders. The law required offenders living in a state with insufficient registry programs to register with the FBI and allowed for the dissemination of FBI information to federal, state and local officials and for the notification of state agencies when certain sex offenders moved to another state.
1997 – The Jacob Wetterling Improvements Act, part of the Appropriations Act of 1998, changed the way state courts determine whether a convicted sex offender should be considered sexually violent. The law also gave states the responsibilities of notification, registration, and FBI notification to a state agency other than law.
The law required each state to set up procedures for registering out-of-state offenders, federal offenders, offenders sentenced by court martial, and non-resident offenders crossing the border to work or attend school and gave states the discretion to register individuals who committed offenses beyond the Wetterling Act’s definition of registerable offenses.
The law also required the Bureau of Prisons to notify state agencies of released or paroled federal offenders, and required the secretary of defense to track and ensure registration compliance of offenders with certain convictions from military courts.
1998 – The Protection of Children from Sexual Predators Act directed the Bureau of Justice Assistance to carry out the Sex Offender Management Assistance (SOMA) program to help eligible states comply with registration requirements. The law also revoked federal funding for programs that gave federal prisoners unsupervised access to the Internet.
2000 – The Campus Sex Crimes Prevention Act, passed as part of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act, required anybody in a state’s sex offender registry to notify an institution of higher education at which the sex offender worked or was a student of their status as a sex offender and amended the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require institutions to provide notice of how information concerning registered sex offenders could be obtained.
2003 – The Prosecutorial Remedies and Other Tools to end the Exploitation of Children Today (PROTECT) Act required states to maintain a website containing registry information, and required the Department of Justice to maintain a web site with links to each state website. The law also authorized appropriations to help with state costs for compliance with new sex offender registration provisions.
2006 – The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act created new sex offender registration and notification and created the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART Office) within the Department of Justice to administer the standards for sex offender notification and registration, administer the grant programs authorized by the Adam Walsh Act, and coordinate related training and technical assistance. The same year the Department of Justice passed a federal regulation to specify that Walsh Act registration requirements are retroactive.
2008 – The Keeping the Internet Devoid of Predators Act (KIDS Act) required registered sex offenders to also register their Internet identifiers, such as emails and screen names, with the DOJ. The law exempted the identifiers from public disclosure on registry websites.
add now (IML) and these Angel Watch stuff!
Does anyone know if any other lawsuits were filed elsewhere by anyone other than Janice and Co ?
I think I understand why.
Defending “sex offenders” in any way, shape, or form is bad for busine$$. Hell even being civil (nice, cordial, etc) to an RC can put that person’s character in question. I’m sure the ACLU knows that if they started being sympathetic with RC’s…they would almost certainly lose funding over it. Who wants to give $ to an organization that attempts to defend the rights of a group that is universally despised and probably more importantly….feared.
The second the government attempts to put identifiers on passports of a group that isn’t universally despised by 99.9999% of the population…the ACLU will be all over it.
One way to kill the Internal Megan’s Law crap…put the 2nd most despised class of human beings on it. Who would that be? Perhaps a certain religious denomination? Perhaps people with HIV?
ms wrote “I think I understand why.
Defending “sex offenders” in any way, shape, or form is bad for busine$$…. Who wants to give $ to an organization that attempts to defend the rights of a group that is universally despised and probably more importantly….feared.”
People that understand the Hitlerian slippery slope. They first came for the sex deviants/homosexuals, then the socialists/political opposition, jews, gypsies, etc..
“The second the government attempts to put identifiers on passports of a group that isn’t universally despised by 99.9999% of the population…the ACLU will be all over it.”
Seems more like 99.99999% of lawmakers. In 2006, 30% of California voters said No to prop 83, Jessica’s Law. The population is split 70/30, even with the media feeding most of them lies on the subject. Yet, the lawmakers are near unanomyous lately on voting for these bogus emergency bills. Registrants are not getting a proportional representation in relation to their support in society. I think there has been a lot of payoffs lately, especially among newbie legislators, and seasoned registrant scapegoater profiteers like the Runners. And this goes on in many states, as well as the Federal level as we see.
Can the moderator let us know how much money had been raised and how much more we need for this lawsuit ? Janice mentioned 100k on the call a few weeks back. Another commenter mentioned it would be helpful to know how much we have raised and I think many of us would agree. You can’t manage what you don’t measure. We would all be inclined to give more if we knew our goal. Thanks for the consideration.
That’s only 1/10 of our goal. We all need to donate what we can. It’s important to our families and our freedom. Janice can do the work but she had to be properly funded and this type of suit isn’t cheap. Consider this , if you use this website for information , please donate to this universal cause. We owe it to ourselves to stand up to this law. Another $50 headed your way Janice.
I am astonished by the low amount donated. I will give $1000 when i get back home in 10 days. I am in Asia now possibly seeing my children for the last time. How do I tell two young girls that I may not be coming back to ever see them again? I have e mailed many congressman and the author of IML. As my wife has been relentlessly e mailing also. Not one reply back. Now I know why these politicians wear masks
Not sure where to post this but I coudnt open a new topic. I need some help regarding interstate travel and understanding sorna. I live in Minnesota. I Was convicted in 2005 in minnesota a non sorna state. My registration expired in 2015. The sheriff here says I don’t need to register anymore. I have no idea becouse I don’t understand the federal law sorna. I was a tier 1 based off of risk. Which is not the same as sorna. How can I comply when my state says I don’t have too? My second question is I’m going to hawaii for 9 days they say I don’t need to register unless I’m there longer than 10 days bit I’m am traveling in interstate commerce. Am I breaking a federal law? My third question is I’m want to visit south carolina which is sorna compliant. There registry says I believe to be 30 days. Please help me understand the law. I want to be in compliance but I don’t Understand. Thank You!
I forgot to mention I was convicted in 2005 not 2003 and I am from Minnesota.
I forgot to mention I’m not on probation or parole. I’ve even had my civil rights restored if any of this makes a difference. I’m having a hard time determining how sorna/adam walsh act applies to me at all.
To date, I have not been affected by any of the same difficulties experienced by others in going to international destinations, but my situation is a bit different which may explain why.
In 1989, pled to federal receipt of CP (govt mailed the video) (note that possession was still legal under federal law). Sentence was probation. Incarcerative sentences were apparently relatively rare at that time.
Explicitly told was not required to register, as possession of CP in California did not become illegal until 1/1/1990, and then the age cutoff was 14 and not 18. It was not a registerable offense either. In the 1993 legislative session, the age was raised to 18, and it was also made registerable.
By this time I was also off probation altogether.
I have travelled internationally regularly all this time, but most in terms of when these notices started going out in 2014 to the UK, France and Netherlands, and also in 2014 to Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia. In 2015 travelled to the UK, and also went on a Caribbean cruise. No issues on any of these trips. Also recently obtained a 3-year Russia visa and 10-year China visa.
Questions are 1) Is it likely I have not had any issues because I am not on any registry? and 2) will IML implementation cause this to change in any way?
The IML says that you have to be currently required to register to get the passport identifier, but the notice provision is a bit more ambiguous, but seems to be ‘just’ codifying what they are already doing in practice, which has not caused me any issues.
I will go ahead and donate $10.00.
Pk, I currently am in Singapore with my family. I am allowed 90 days here without a visa extension. I cant take a chance of overstaying here and get blacklisted from entering the country. Although IML will do that for me. I have already been blacklisted from the Philippines because I did an extended stay visa and Philippine Immigration did a background check on me through the good ole US Embassy. It costs a lot of money to survive in Singapore as it is a very expensive country and wages are low. I cant work here unless I am affiliated with a country doing business here. Then I can only stay 2 years with a background check through the US Embassy. This is a very strict country with their immigration rules. I wonder if things will be different when I am off New Yorks registry in 3 more weeks. My girls are everything to me. If I lose them I’ve lost everything. But I will not go down without a fight. Since 1992 I have remained silent by being on a registry that I wasn’t supposed to be on to begin with according to my local sheriff. But I will stand proudly next to you and fight this unjust action against us.
Pk, I currently am in Singapore with my family. I am allowed 90 days here without a visa extension. I cant take a chance of overstaying here and get blacklisted from entering the country. Although IML will do that for me. I have already been blacklisted from the Philippines because I did an extended stay visa and Philippine Immigration did a background check on me through the good ole US Embassy. It costs a lot of money to survive in Singapore as it is a very expensive country and wages are low. I cant work here unless I am affiliated with a company doing business here. Then I can only stay 2 years with a background check through the US Embassy. This is a very strict country with their immigration rules. I wonder if things will be different when I am off New Yorks registry in 3 more weeks. My girls are everything to me. If I lose them I’ve lost everything. But I will not go down without a fight. Since 1992 I have remained silent by being on a registry that I wasn’t supposed to be on to begin with according to my local sheriff. But I will stand proudly next to you and fight this unjust action against us.
I hope Janice is able to stop this awful piece of legislation. I’m also hoping that at some point something can stop Waldron’s AB 20. Now that I’m a few months away from the end of my probation period I had hoped to file under 1203.4 (a) but thanks to her bill 1203.4 (b) now prevents me from doing so. I have a misdemeanor 311.11 (a) conviction from 2014 on my record. Seemingly if I can’t file under 1203.4 (a) I don’t believe I can file for A COR either. Which means getting passed this and finding better work is next to impossible. Anyone have experience with any of this or am I understanding this incorrectly?
Ok so now that I know sorna is a guideline for states to follow. I know now all I have to do is follow each states registry requirements. My next question is if I want to go visit a sorna state I would presume I would have to register but how would that work since I’m a level 1 based on risk and sorna is rated by offense? Would they change my level to comply with sorna just for a 7 day vacation?Rob I was confused to I always thou g t once I didn’t have to register in my home state I was free to do whatever.
It looks like the judge for at least the preliminary injunction is Phyllis Hamilton, a Clinton appointee. Does anyone know her judicial record and if this is a good thing for a successful injunction? Looking for anyone with real knowledge about her previous decisions not speculation. Thanks!