More than 40 people today participated in a peaceful protest held outside the federal district court in Oakland. Participants included registrants and supporters from California as well as several other states, including Florida, Missouri and Oregon. Today’s protest included the burning of sex offender registration cards by six registrants led by CA RSOL Treasurer Frank Lindsay.
Today’s protest was a tremendous success,” stated CA RSOL President Janice Bellucci. “We effectively communicated to the public and to the media our position that the International Megan’s Law (IML) violates the U.S. Constitution.”
The protest immediately followed oral arguments made in support of, and in opposition to, the federal government’s motion to dismiss the case. During the court hearing, the government argued that the federal government needs to notify foreign countries when registrants intend to visit in order to prevent child sex tourism and child sex trafficking. The government also argued the need to add a “conspicuous unique identifier” to the passports of hundreds of thousands of registrants in order to stop them from visiting multiple countries during a single trip.
Registrant attorney Bellucci argued that notifications sent to foreign countries have a “chilling effect” upon registrants, many of whom are now afraid to travel overseas. She also argued that notifications are harm registrants’ ability to travel overseas in order to meet with family members, conduct business and pursue cultural interests. She further argued that they place registrants and anyone who travels with them at risk of physical harms.
During today’s hearing, Bellucci asked Judge Hamilton to deny the government’s motion to dismiss the case and instead to allow registrants to amend the complaint. The judge did not issue a decision today, however, a decision is expected within the next 30 days.
Related
http://www.abc10.com/news/local/california/sex-offenders-protest-their-right-for-travel/282998981
http://www.courthousenews.com/2016/07/27/sex-offenders-fight-passport-scarlet-letter.htm
https://broadly.vice.com/en_us/article/sex-offenders-fight-back-against-scarlet-letter-in-passports
Thank you Janice and All! I wanted to come from FL. to participate but I had to work. Thank you and everyone else for your work and support.
How would Janice like the Complaint to be amended?
What was the request?
The need to notify foreign governments to prevent child sex trafficking and child sex tourism?? In Bangkok Thailand now they have a big trial going on with sex trafficking. Over 92 defendants and NOT ONE American sex offender being prosecuted in that trial. And the government wants to tout child trafficking? Our “wonderful” government should take a look at all the children crossing the Mexican border all alone without any adults. The US let’s them in and lets them lose. How many have ended up being sex trafficked in this country? That makes the US the biggest child trafficker in the world.
MY QUICK SUMMARY OF THE POSITIVE THINGS THAT HAPPENED TODAY:
Janice made excellent arguments before the judge, so the judge did not dismiss the case. Thanks for your excellent work, Janice!
Some of the RCs and supporters made some great signs we held up. Hundreds of people saw our signs as they walked in and out of the Federal building.
Some people asked questions and took flyers.
A TV station and independent video producers took videos of our protest.
No one attacked or screamed at us.
We got to network with other pro-RC groups.
MY SUMMARY OF THE ONE MAJOR NEGATIVE THING THAT HAPPENED TODAY:
*****ONLY A DOZEN RCs SHOWED UP*****
I’d LIKE to say that 850 RCs out of 850,000 RCs nationwide showed up (just one in 1,000). I’d PREFER to report that 1 in 1,000 Californian RCs took the time and money to come, which would have been 135 RCs.
BUT…just 12 RCs were willing to try to prevent having SEX OFFENDER stamped in our passports forever, visible to your hotel staff, tour guides, and others. And just two were from out of state.
In fact, there were almost four times as many Non-RCs as us RCs! Why are they fighting our battle for us????
I understand that many of us face financial hardship (I do too), difficulty in taking time off from work (I’m struggling to start a small business) and difficulty in travel.
I know many RCs don’t want me to keep mentioning these shocking numbers.
But someone has to stand up and ask what it will take for more of us to show up, stand up, and be heard face-to-face. Especially for major, precedent-setting, nationwide issues like this.
I want to thank those who are donating, writing letters, making calls, and taking other pro-RC actions. They are all necessary.
But without a LOT of us showing up face-to-face, these things alone won’t win us the war. We need to change public perception that we are not monsters! The best way to do that is to show them face-to-face that we are ordinary people who made a bad choice but are now law-abiding citizens.
Without face-to-face interaction, politicians will keep passing bad laws because they get votes, so our legal challenges in the courts will be endless. If the public doesn’t want those laws anymore, politicians won’t pass them. It’s that simple.
Please consider how you can join our fight in person next time. Politicians, the news media, and the public really notice that.
If you want to receive Janice’s action alert emails, send an email to this address (I have to spell it out due to spam bots):
carsolinfo at gmail dot com
We can win this thing if we are willing what is needed, and not expect others to do it for us.
Thanks again for whatever you are able to do.
The ABC-TV station from Sacramento covered our protest today. You can watch their coverage by clicking on the following link or using the following as a search term: http://www.abc10.com/news/local/sacramento/sex-offenders-protest-new-travel-restrictions/282836076
I wish I could be there with you guys but I’m in Louisiana one of the worse states for SO laws
I hope maybe to start something here. For now I’ll just donate money
Exposure, lack of funds, anxiety, and hopelessness are all reasons so many of us were not there. Its a sad thing to admit, but its reality. I have lost everything once. I couldn’t handle losing what little I have again. When the time comes that I have nothing to lose, my voice will be heard, and people will remember.
Ladies & Gentlemen, please don’t take your legal advocate Janice Bellucci + your Constitutional Rights for granted.
You’re getting legal advocacy in court representation that challenges injustice. Other state registered also please donate , this iml injustice effects you too.
Please donate what you can: five or ten or twenty dollars…. Whatever you can send: The Janice Bellucci effort is priceless.
Mail check or money order:
CARSOL
1313 W. 8th Street
Los Angeles, Ca. 90017
Thank You.
http://www.abc10.com/news/local/california/sex-offenders-protest-their-right-for-travel/282998981
Thank you to all who contributed and who showed up or provided remote moral support.
I thought the State Department was supposed to develop rules to implement the passport identifier within 90 days after the law was signed. Have they done so?
I appreciate everyone’s efforts in this, especially Janice.
Being in Texas with a wife and two young kids and having lost my job due to registration, we are barely making it. Not only are finances a problem, but travel while on probation is next to impossible for anything but dire family issues. Amazing how when something unconstitutional is allowed to start in the first place, that it snowballs into putting those people in a position where they can’t even defend themselves and must rely on other intelligent people to step in.
The best I can give right now is my verbal support, and continuing to research and spread the word about the registration scheme and how horrible it is. Thanks to the lack of any real media attention, most people I talk to think that the registry is only full of people that can’t be cured and proven to be an active threat against children, and therefore should have no rights and just be thankful they aren’t in prison where they should be. After all, when it all started that was the publicized goal and reasons that have never been corrected or updated as far as the public is concerned.
I am disappointed this has only made it on 2 news sites so far.
This part from the courthousenews web site really upsets me:
********
Wyer pointed to that ruling on Wednesday, saying the plaintiffs’ asserted injuries aren’t traceable to the International Megan’s Law.
“Simply sharing factual info with other governments is not a cognizable injury for the purposes of standing. The plaintiffs are essentially speculating on actions that other governments or third parties might take,” Wyer said. “But there’s nothing in the law that requires anything specific to happen. Any action that might be taken is an independent action by a foreign authority.”
********
What do they think will happen with other governments?
Hey, other counties, we are going to tell you that this person committed a crime that our legislators decided was sexually related. Now, we aren’t going to have our judges or juries actually look into if these people are really a threat to children, even though the judges and juries are immune from being liable as long as they do make their best judgement. Instead, we want every country they travel to to spend time and money to figure that out on their own…every time…even though we wouldn’t do it just once.
There is no clear intent to protect children here. Most of the countries they notify that turn offenders away aren’t even child trafficking hot spots. The only intent here is for a few legislators to put another feather in their cap and continue to get re-elected when they can incorrectly claim they were protecting children by being tougher on sex crimes and criminals.
well if we cant or wont pull together , so many of us that are living under bridges or one step from living under a dang bridge because of harassment and often bulled , and no back up , because everyone is afraid that all people will all rally against us and try to make our lives hell because to many of us in one place , life is already hell for most of us , we need to empower each other to be able to get in to this fight on a giant level , back in the 60’s and early 70’s people from all walks of life stepped up and would start little communs all over the place and some would work on getting a kitchen going so everyone could eat , others were in charge of going out and getting free clothing so we could stay clean , and everyone worked together so a mass of us could show up at a rally , we had rednecks trying to get rid of us hippy’s lol like everyone was a hippy , a lot of the what ever you want to call them , lets just say hippy to make this easy , but most of the hippys were non violent and would take the big beat down , bad deal, but some of us were bikers and ex army or usmc , and when the rednecks would come thinking that they were going to bully the hippys would run in to their worst nightmare , we had each others back , and not all were even fighting over the same thing , main thing was rights , every bodys rights , but the first thing we had to do was empower the mass so we were not stretched too thin , it was all grass roots , a bunch of shakers and movers , but we had to be willing to fight if we had to stop them from being able to fear monger us to the point we could not keep the movement strong , I am just saying , you know its hard to get people to rally that are living under a bridge or close to it over something like the IML when many have eather never been out of the country for what ever reason , mostly to poor , and RSO’s that are living so poor that they cant even afford a cheap computer and a way to stay on line , doing good to eat , and full of fear , yet pull people together and inform them why it’s important to fight this IML , you have a force then , most just want this whole REG gone , and that’s all they know , some people spent more on vacations over seas than many of us make in the entire year ,and many of those are the very people that are the shakers and movers , no one is asking for anything , no one is asking for a hand out from any of you just a hand up , its called working together , inform the uniformed , help your brothers and sisters out , so they can help you , and them selfs , just leaving it to the courts? they get jumpy when 2 or 3 thousand are calling them out , and many more, when more RSO’s word travels , all of these unjust laws need to be stomped out , this is our job ! to gather and inform , we use do sit ins , and everyone got to speak their mines , everyone would get together and do some rock n roll dance have fun , and throw a ratchet in the wheels of the goverments rule , because they have just been aloud to run amuck , with this foolish laws for us , but they do what ever they want , and very few of them ever answer for their crimes , if we make it fun and the hip thing , then people will join the fight that are not even RSO’s , we are the freedom movement whether we want to be or not its our duty because we are the most repressed people on the planet , what good is a job and a house if we have no rights and they can just make us move or just take it away , just keep stacking law after law on us as they see fit , at some point we need to get tough and push back ,but first we need to open doors so the mass will pull together , we have Janice that’s fighting these unjust laws , but its going to take the mass’s to make things happen much faster , all ready been to court , did the time and or paper , now our family are the victims as well as us ,
I was wondering if someone could explain:
How would Janice like the Complaint to be amended?
I really wish we could have another phone conference about this.
I just wonder what day the ACLU will step out front and actually use there name and start fighting these hit list laws full force. i just wonder if 10-15 years ago the first court challenges were not set up by the Feds to make these laws stick.
roger thank you for your efforts and for your respectful comments and pleas for people to show up and speak up without degrading comments like you’ve had in the past. people are much more inclined to listen and perhaps even react in a more positive way when you address them in the way that you just did..just by your comments just now I am even considering showing up at these protest even though I feel they are a complete waste of time and resources..that’s just my opinion but I commend and thank any and every one that fights anyway they can..
Good number! Next time it should be larger!!
To all who frequent this site whether reading and getting informed or leaving comments, please know that [if you are able to] it is never a waste of time to show up to a rally to show support and your frustration and increase the number of faces and voices that is needed to overcome these injustices. We will win this WAR and it will be done with educating the public, kindness towards one another and love for human beings. And of course it helps to have Janice, her crew, and the countless hours of persistent hard work they put into this cause.
I’m so glad that I was able to be a part of this protest in Oakland. We filmed the protest, gathered interviews and still photos. I am a registered citizen and filmmaker from Utah. Thank you to all that showed up and supported this cause.
Matt
http://www.metamorafilms.org
Metamora Films
I want thank everyone that show up to support us. Beginning last month, now and the next 4 months will be challenging for us financially, because our daughter has open her third year of Doctor of Medicine, in the Philippines, her tuition, books, special hospital approved equipment and attire and living support is taking everything we have above our every day needs. The saddest about this, as it looks for now, I will not be able to travel, with wife, when she graduate from Doctor of Medicine in 2018. I am not able to do any serious traveling for now. However, I willing to write letters and contact local RC’s and introduce them to CA RSOL, (I could use a pamphlet or brochure about CA RSOL so I can leave with these contacts).
Thank you Janice, for everything.
Here are some links to the news stories on the IML protest:
Video – http://www.abc10.com/news/local/sacramento/sex-offenders-protest-new-travel-restrictions/282836076
http://www.abc10.com/news/local/california/sex-offenders-protest-their-right-for-travel/282998981
http://www.courthousenews.com/2016/07/27/sex-offenders-fight-passport-scarlet-letter.htm
I was not present at the hearing(s) everything I know of IML i have learned from here!
However, we all are puzzled in one way or another over the same things. And I would like a clear analysis as well.
As I know it to be Angel Watch is not a funded or otherwise piece of legislation; therefore, it must be an executive order or procedure that has been unlawfully funded with tax dollars not allocated.
Enter IML their opportunity to make lawful and fund all that they have been doing–let’s just say we’ve been a part of a pilot program, eek!!! One that yielded no facts to support their conclusion that sex tourism will diminish as a result of restricting the worldly where abouts of US registered citizens.
However, we did learn that families and business owners along with the general quality of life and fundamental freedoms the rest of the free world enjoys those of registered American citizens as a whole have been hampered and infringed upon as a result of Angel Watch and now it’s funded IML partner. Lives have been and are now impacted
Have each and everyone of us been injured or suffered a basic human right and do we currently have standing because of it IML, Angel Watch, or whatever you want to call it.have current standing??? Hell yes we do!
So until a better analysis comes along, I must believe the court and the government are playing footsy: all this talk about standing–what non-sense; it was an excellently written complaint and they are freaking out about it, trying to figure a away for a safe landing! it’s here-we-go-again time! right before our eyes, except now the court is the instrument rather than the executive or legislative branches.
So then notifying receiving countries of a person’s background is not a hardship?
So the next time one of the enemy flies abroad, we can notify the receiving nation that they refused to take the sex offender polygraph test and that they might be a child rapist.
We do not have to prove intent, we only have to state past behavior and refusal to submit to the examination should immediately be a red flag for nations that have significant child sex rates.
So we need to start getting on record the names of politicians, police and other people who refuse to take the test and send these lists to every nation and remind every nation that only 16 of every 100 American child rapists is ever identified and that out of 100 Americans leaving your airport, five or more of them are going to ram their penises inside your young children.
If lists are not punitive, then we too can start making lists.
Man lake county don’t put off your actions or inaction on someone else…. I am trying to get past all this negativity between anyone on this site but you just keep going on this crap….If your so thin skinned you shouldn’t be posting post that are attacking people on personal levels… I have a right to my opinions and a right to post and discuss those opinions. If you and that other person that posted about my comments had their way I would be censored and restricted or my comments would be banned… Sounds a lot like what most of us our fighting to overcome and protect (our rights….)I.m not going to get into any more negative activity with you or any one else on this site all I ask is that you respect my right to post what ever I want without being attacked on a personal level…Janice and Roger you have convinced me that protesting or showing up at committees are absolute not a waste of time that any and all efforts to educate the public or law makers is in fact a worthy en-devour and you should be praised and admired for doing so…Which I completely do.. Anytime janice ask us to mail letters and make phone calls I do it….What I want to know from Janice and what will make all this conversation on this subject productive is if some one has a choice between donating a couple hundred bucks to this site or traveling and attending protest and meetings which would be the best way to help our cause from your respective… Thank you Janice for all that you have done for us and me personally I couldn’t even be attending college right now if it wasn’t for you and you team blocking those presence restrictions so from the bottom of my heart thank you and I will try not to discourage any one from doing anything in the future but please answer my question about which would be a better way to support our cause…Donating that somewhat large amount of money directly to your organization or spend it and the time to protest or go to public meetings??????
also thank you nomore for defending my right to express my opinions