HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) – A Pennsylvania lawmaker has introduced legislation to ban convicted sex offenders from serving as firefighters.
Under House Bill 2220, professional and volunteer firefighters would have to submit to a background check or sign a statement saying they’ve never been convicted of a sexual offense.
Pennsylvania already prohibits convicted arsonists from serving as firefighters, but whether a convicted sex offender may serve is up to each individual community to decide.
Republican Rep. Kathy Rapp introduced the proposal after a fire chief in her Crawford County district was re-elected despite is 2001 conviction for sexually assaulting a 4-year-old. He has since resigned.
this is fear mongering at its finest…. so what this lawmaker is essentially saying is, that she would rather have her house burn down, or loose a loved one in an emergency situation, all because there might be a slim possibility that the S.O. may have ulterior motives, and thoughts about them, while in their burning house, putting THEIR lives at risk, to save your sorry ass, or loved one? or maybe providing CPR to a loved one, who just collapsed from a heart attack, because the S.O. might have to touch them to do it? you know what this is? KARMA…it is hopefully DARWINISM working at its best, to one day rid the world of hypocritical lawmakers like this. I for one would gladly stand back, and watch this lawmakers possessions all go up in flames, OR look the other way as their loved one lays on the ground in distress. why? oh because I’m an S.O.,and its against the law for me to help anyone, as it might be construed as a means to get closer to another victim. REALLY people? as long as their are Dumbass lawmakers in positions like this, there will never be a rational discussion about these kinds of topics. this is truly the low of lows. and I for one, hope this particular lawmaker burns in hell!!
(WHTM) – A Pennsylvania lawmaker has introduced legislation to ban convicted sex offenders from serving as firefighters.
Under House Bill 2220, professional and volunteer firefighters would have to submit to a background check or sign a statement saying they’ve never been convicted of a sexual offense.
Republican Rep. Kathy Rapp introduced the proposal after a fire chief in her Crawford County district was re-elected despite is 2001 conviction for sexually assaulting a 4-year-old. He has since resigned
Great use of public resources. I wonder if these criminal legislators think there could ever be too many laws or that government could be too big. Big government ought to be constrained to a certain size. It should be dictated that big government may only control N things and no more. They would have to pick the most important and useful things to control. Stupidity like this would have to be skipped.
But why would anyone who is listed on a SEX Offender Registry (SORs) ever want to do anything that might help someone who supports the SORs (i.e. a Registry Terrorist (RT))? The PRIMARY, #1 goal of anyone who is listed on an SOR should be to ensure that they never help anyone who supports it. Not ever. That must be the primary goal in life. I think relative to the SORs, ALL people should have a long list of life goals and they should START in this priority:
1. Follow all laws. Not because they are legal, moral, or proper. But because they are weapons of war. Do not allow them to be used against you. Do use them against RTs.
2. Never do anything that could aid an RT.
3. Ensure the SORs are worthless.
4. Harm RTs by any means that is legal.
A Registered Citizen can’t be a firefighter or anything else that helps the general public.
“‘There are certain things that our society does not believe is appropriate. Being a firefighter who can go into a home is absolutely one of them,’ Rapp said.”
What? What does that jargon even mean?
That you think firefighters going into homes is inappropriate? That firefighters use their position to enter unsuspecting residences? That you think firefighters should have full legal clearance to risk their lives by entering a home on fire?
The idiocy is almost too much to bear.
Why stop at firefighting occupations? Why not ban all registrants from any job that involves any human contact? Probably should ask Rapp to do just that.
Then ask Rapp to ban arsonist from any purchase that can create a spark, which includes the use of a microwave oven, lights, or anything with electricity.
Oh then ask Rapp to ban anyone convicted of a DUI from every driving any vehicle, including a non-motorized bike as well as anything with alcohol in it such as legal, over the counter cold medicine.
If she wants to be 100% correct, then make sure she follows through on this 100% effort to the fullest. Let her fulfill what Colorado Judge Matsch concluded, that the registry is made cruel and unusual punishment by the public.
This fits right into Judge Matsch’s decision narrative it appears which he is being called out on in accordance with society’s punishment (aka collateral damage and nothing the state wants to acknowledge) of the RC.
So much for your peers having a say in their VOLUNTEER department matters. Even though all FD infrastructure and vehicles are publicly funded entities (volunteers are not paid), this law should be possibly challenged (if passed and someone wanted to). It calls out FFs specifically and not all publicly funded personnel positions in positions of trust (including politicians). Hiring practices be damned, it needs to be codified in law! Can someone from PA call the committee, the reps, the governor(!) to suggest politicians be included on the publicly funded personnel position exclusion list please on a matter of principle?!
The FF who may have a RC conviction does not need to necessarily go into the home unless it is burning because other than that, they could do other duties as needed in the call of duty beside going into the public’s home (even if it is burning). Maybe they could ask whether any children are in the burning house before considering entrance? Asking for a friend out of courtesy…
Someone in PA needs to challenge her data gathering technique and sample pool she since she knows of no one who wants a RC to come their home. Someone in PA should ask her if she delineated whether the home was burning or not in her sample of the public. Sometimes, volunteer FFs are not easy to get or retain.
@ Debo
really? so apparently your lucky enough to live in a community, or city that has MORE first responders than they know what to do with? well where I live, everything is volunteer, were many departments are struggling to stay afloat financially, or struggle to find new, younger people, to replace ones that for whatever reason, age, ability, or other circumstances keeps them from doing it. obviously being an SO bars me from certain positions, or jobs, and that IS something I ACCEPT as a consequence of my actions. BUT this is more about lumping all of us into one BIG category, and I’m glad you feel that we should all be treated as second class citizens . and if you really feel that an SO couldn’t help you or a family member in an emergency situation, then MAKE SURE you ask every first responder that might come to assist you OR a family member IF they are an SO, so as you can make that informed decision in that split second before you actually need it….maybe you should run for a PA legislative position as well, cause right now your reasoning is as far out in left field as theirs is..
If try to ban us from working them everyone is going to have something to fear who’s not an SO, talk about having nothing to loose, a bunch of SO’s unable to pay for food, cloths, home, bills, that’s a very bad idea
PA is not the only state with RCs serving their communities after they have paid their debt (OK too as seen here):
A city under fire: embezzlement and a firefighter on the sex offender registry discovered in Coyle
http://kfor.com/2018/02/14/a-city-under-fire-embezzlement-and-a-firefighter-on-the-sex-offender-registry-discovered-in-coyle/