An incident in which a sex offender visited Cape Girardeau’s Discovery Playhouse children’s museum prompted state Rep. Kathy Swan to file legislation to bar sex offenders from that museum and others.
Registered sex offenders would be prohibited from being within 500 feet of any museum, zoo or “other location with the primary purpose of entertaining or educating children” younger than 18 years of age under legislation introduced by Swan. Full Article
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more BS by a REP of the US, if nothing happened WHO Cares you arent protecting anyone from anything ! I read here I think it was in IL that once off parole a RSO ant goto a CONCERT, HOW LAME If I was in IL Id more importantly MOVE outta that lame state, at the LEAST Id GOTO A concert, I call it freedom of assembly ! ahah Piss on that one ! and If I wanna goto a PUBLIC Zoo I pay for then Quit taxing me for something I cant goto and something I PAY FOR. Hopefully Rep. Kathy Swan will croak like that one in CA did that tried to introduce bill after bill that was BS, its called KARMA !~
The bill would include not even being able to go to any businesses or stores located within the 500′ radius from the property edge, including two restaurants.
I would suggest Ms. Henry use the recent court decision laid down by Illinois,
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An Illinois appeals court ruled that a state law making it a crime for convicted sex offenders to set foot in public parks is unconstitutional because it can punish innocent conduct.
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Parks, museums, zoos, libraries, etc… All of these are a form of banishment to someone who is no longer under custody. These forms of banishment is to serve the state. Banishment is a form of punishment. Yet, this isn’t called punishment b/c it’s so called regulatory. How can something be regulatory if a person is still serving the state as a free person? Seems like involuntary servitude is at hand here if it’s not punishment.
There’s a blog piece on the WAR/WomenAgainstRegistry website, regarding Rep. Swan’s ill-conceived bill.
It’s unfortunate that someone who supposedly represents a state would be so close-minded as to think that registrants minding their own business should be excluded from any venue because they have a “past”. Everyone has a “past”, some we know about and some we don’t. Maybe some we should look more closely into the “past” of those holding a public office.
Does Rep. Swan know that many registrants have never had any inappropriate sexual contact at all ? Public urination, skinny-dipping, kidnapping, any of these acts can get someone on the registry.
She may want to educate herself before jumping on some band-wagon and portraying herself as a “do-gooder for the children”. Senseless grand-standing and fear-mongering to get a bill passed when there’s no empirical evidence to back it up just makes a fool out of this representative.
confused,,, if trump orders a ban on people, courts rules it unconstitutional why arent these types of bans on us unconstitutional hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm ashole trump
Read the bill, it is impacting only those who have criminal convictions where children were involved, not all RCs.
I do agree that radius laws are bunk and the past is past, so leave it there.
By the way, zoos (and museums) primary purpose is NOT to educate children under 18 as the proposed law states, but to educate the general public regardless of the age of those being educated.
I suggest everyone bombard this authors email with facts..it’s great when there is a link to their emails….
You all have Computers with access to her life. Dig deep and see what you can find. By law they must publish where they get their Campaign money and where they spend it.
Meanwhile, i haven’t heard about the changes or laws made to protect children from alligators from amusement parks. I know of two kids being killed by alligators over the last couple of years.
As a registered sex offender AND a mother of a 10 yr old (of whom i never lost custody, nor was it ever an option) This proposed bill is crap… Whatever happened to serving your time and paying your debt to society then being done with it? I was found guilty of 2nd degree statutory rape for being too intoxicated to say “no i don’t want to do this” and for refusing to press rape charges on a teenager and ruin his life.
There has never been a question of whether or not i should be allowed to be around children nor am i a danger to them. i’m a non violent non predatory former offender i abide by the rules of my release. Ive finished parole I live in a household with not only my child but others as well. Passing laws like this would make it impossible for me to attend school functions, take my child to museums or parks or zoos or any other place that other children congregate. Its bad enough that i have to live with the stigma of being a sex offender held over my head on the daily, but its not just the person who committed the offense that is held under that same umbrella… So now that ive committed a crime my child and my family have to suffer too??? politicians dont think about this when spewing out there hateful laws. and most people aren’t intelligent enough to not follow this hate mongering… its truly sad.