Janice’s Journal: We Are at the Brink

The Cambridge English dictionary defines the word “brink” as the point where a new or different situation is about to begin. The word “brink” therefore accurately describes the current situation facing almost 1 million people in the United States who are required to register as sex offenders. There are three reasons this is true.

First, the United States is about to either re-elect the same President or elect a new President as well as countless other politicians on the city, county, state and federal levels. The results of those elections may or may not be known on Election Day, but they will eventually be known and when they are known there is sure to be a shift to either the right or the left. The question is how that shift will affect registrants and their loved ones. Will the newly elected officials see the mistakes made by their predecessors and stop punishing those who have already paid their debt to society? Or will they refuse to see that harm and continue to punish an increasing number of Americans?

Second, the proposed SORNA regulations are looming on the horizon. Will the current administration address the 618 comments they received? And if so, will that administration revise the proposed regulations based on those comments? Or will that administration issue final regulations without consideration of important issues such as whether the federal government may lawfully require an individual to comply with federal regulations that a state refuses to enforce? And what will happen if there is a new administration? Will that administration stop the proposed SORNA regulations using the Congressional Review Act or another law that allows a new administration to scrutinize and even halt regulations proposed during the final days of the past administration?

Third, will the COVID-19 virus continue to spread throughout the nation resulting in a growing number of deaths and greater harm to the nation’s economy? Although there are no known statistics on this topic, it is logical to believe that registrants and their families have suffered and will continue to suffer greatly both physically and economically from the harm caused by the COVID-19 virus. After all, it is difficult for a registrant to find a job in a robust economy. When the economy in less than robust, that important task is even more difficult, if not impossible.

While there is great uncertainty at this time for registrants and their loved ones, it is also a time for hope. We have learned a lot during the past decade as we challenged Halloween signs, employment restrictions, presence restrictions, and even residency restrictions. We have found our voice and in speaking Truth, we have made a difference in state capitols as well as state and federal courts.

There is no guarantee that next week’s election will solve all of the nation’s problems, including the problems faced by registrants and their loved ones. Given what we have learned and practiced, however, we know that we have begun to collect the resources necessary to reach the Tipping Point at which society will wake up, face the harsh reality of the harm that has been caused by the registry, and end the registry for all. Until we reach that Tipping Point, we must continue to increase our resources and our efforts. We must continue to Show Up – Stand Up – Speak Up.

Related posts

Subscribe
Notify of

We welcome a lively discussion with all view points - keeping in mind...

 

  1. Your submission will be reviewed by one of our volunteer moderators. Moderating decisions may be subjective.
  2. Please keep the tone of your comment civil and courteous. This is a public forum.
  3. Swear words should be starred out such as f*k and s*t and a**
  4. Please avoid the use of derogatory labels.  Use person-first language.
  5. Please stay on topic - both in terms of the organization in general and this post in particular.
  6. Please refrain from general political statements in (dis)favor of one of the major parties or their representatives.
  7. Please take personal conversations off this forum.
  8. We will not publish any comments advocating for violent or any illegal action.
  9. We cannot connect participants privately - feel free to leave your contact info here. You may want to create a new / free, readily available email address that are not personally identifiable.
  10. Please refrain from copying and pasting repetitive and lengthy amounts of text.
  11. Please do not post in all Caps.
  12. If you wish to link to a serious and relevant media article, legitimate advocacy group or other pertinent web site / document, please provide the full link. No abbreviated / obfuscated links. Posts that include a URL may take considerably longer to be approved.
  13. We suggest to compose lengthy comments in a desktop text editor and copy and paste them into the comment form
  14. We will not publish any posts containing any names not mentioned in the original article.
  15. Please choose a short user name that does not contain links to other web sites or identify real people.  Do not use your real name.
  16. Please do not solicit funds
  17. No discussions about weapons
  18. If you use any abbreviation such as Failure To Register (FTR), Person Forced to Register (PFR) or any others, the first time you use it in a thread, please expand it for new people to better understand.
  19. All commenters are required to provide a real email address where we can contact them.  It will not be displayed on the site.
  20. Please send any input regarding moderation or other website issues via email to moderator [at] all4consolaws [dot] org
  21. We no longer post articles about arrests or accusations, only selected convictions. If your comment contains a link to an arrest or accusation article we will not approve your comment.
  22. If addressing another commenter, please address them by exactly their full display name, do not modify their name. 
ACSOL, including but not limited to its board members and agents, does not provide legal advice on this website.  In addition, ACSOL warns that those who provide comments on this website may or may not be legal professionals on whose advice one can reasonably rely.  
 

49 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

You would think with all of the talk of defunding police they would look at programs they could stop to save money.. How much does the entire state registration cost ? Perhaps we could tell them how much money they could save by being more civilized .