Twenty-eight people who were registered sex offenders, or the wife, mother, father, brother or counselor of sex offenders, lined up to give testimony to the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee on Friday, asking for changes to the Nebraska registry law.
The Judiciary Committee embarked on a study of the sex offender registry law over the interim to determine if changes are needed and, if so, what they should be.
The registered offenders told the committee about how the registry created life-altering situations in which they couldn’t get jobs, or only the lowest-paying jobs, or were denied housing. Spouses and children were punished along with them, and in some cases their inclusion on the registry led to divorce because of the limitations it placed on their lives.
One man said he had been shot in the back because of his presence on the registry.
“Almost 6,000 Nebraska families live under discrimination and paranoia created by the registry,” said Deborah Whitt.
Families are deeply and negatively affected by the unintended burdens of this law, she said. It is unjust, and does not protect people, but rather creates in communities climates of suspicion, anxiety, hate, bullying and fear.
If offenders have served their sentences, done all the programming and therapy, why continue to discriminate against them, Whitt asked.
Every oppressed minority group has eventually had to go public and speak out about the abuse in order to get change. The courage of these people to come forward is impressive. I hope I have the courage when my time comes.
Those 28 people who testified are the REAL patriots of this country and what it USED to stand for.
As…..the walls slowly start to crumble .
This is the continuing pushback that the Registry is getting for what it is doing to so many registrants and their friends and families. As long as the government keeps adding more people to that flawed and cancerous list the more pushback this will get.
Inevitably the Registry will collapse under its own weight by way of increasing lawsuits, hearings, and shrinking budgets LE has to endure for policing a growing population of registrants. Besides the cracks in the system are showing…
EVERYTHING has its limits.
Wow, it seems as though perhaps someone in the NE Legislature truly gets it. While I still disagree with any sort of citizen registration, I’m heartened with his tacit admission it has gone well beyond “the original purpose.” The problem, Senator, is that it’s impossible to have *any* public registry without it going beyond the original purpose. Even if it’s LE-only, the harassment LE does and will do in the name of “compliance checks” will still cause problems.
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“Safety is important,” [Committee Chairman Steve] Lathrop said. “We want to make sure the original purpose of the registry is achieved, without causing all the collateral damage to people who can’t actually get on with life. … The issue is whether they are at risk to reoffend.”
It shouldn’t be designed to be an additional form of punishment, he said.
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All in all this article seems to have a spin in our favor. Another chip knocked off the wall.
@ Anonymous
Just more fuel to the fire I suppose that’s heating up the Registry. LE and politicians alike are joining the ever growing community of Registrants.
Every time I look I’m amazed at the cancerous hypocrisy of the system by way of LE and politicians pretending to say one thing and doing the other.
Well guys you get to be in the receiving end of the injustices and wrongdoing that you had once perpetuated with your LIES and ARROGANCE …
Welcome to Pariah Country! Enjoy your stay…
They are protecting electronic DOMESTIC surveillance & techniques. THAT’S ALL!
Having a database of bad human is 1 thing for, indenture to the machine property another!
If state may indenture citizen man to subservience to insatiable database maintenance how far can a federal governments go?
Man, have you guys noticed how many of these articles are now linked to subscriptions? Probably just coincidence.