Today we sit on top of a mountain. We take a short rest after an arduous journey up a steep path. We gather strength. We gather numbers. We prepare for what we believe will be the final legs of a journey for many who will reach freedom…..freedom from the tyranny of the sex offender registry.
Our journey began six years ago when a brave elected official, Tom Ammiano, introduced the first tiered registry bill. He saw the truth, that the requirement to register is not a mere administrative requirement, but instead is punishment.
Despite the efforts of that brave leader and our lobbying, the state legislature refused to see the truth and defeated the first tiered registry bill in 2012. The members of the state legislature continued to refuse to see the truth and did not allow a vote on the second tiered registry bill in 2013.
Not only did members of the state legislature defeat the first two tiered registry bills, they also introduced legislation during a six-year period that significantly harmed registrants and their families. Those bills were based upon the myth that registrants have a high rate of re-offense which has been discredited by empirical evidence.
The state legislature has an opportunity this year to correct its mistakes of the past by passing a new tiered registry bill (SB 421). This tiered registry bill is similar to past tiered registry bills because it would end the requirement for many registrants to register for a lifetime.
This tiered registry bill is different than past tiered registry bills because it has bipartisan authors (Democratic Senator Scott Wiener and Republican Senator Joel Anderson) and is supported by law enforcement and district attorneys. The bill is also supported by victims’ rights groups, the ACLU, Equality California and ACSOL.
Together, our coalition of supporters has succeeded in passage of the tiered registry bill in the Senate. However, our coalition of supporters now faces a great challenge in the Assembly where the bill will be considered by two committees and then face a floor vote.
The first of those hearings will be before the Public Safety Committee on July 11 at 9 a.m. in Room 126 of the State Capitol. It is the final opportunity we will have to publicly state our support for the tiered registry bill.
Therefore, it is time for us to move from the top of the mountain to the State Capitol for one of the final legs of the journey. It is time for your voice to be heard! For when you speak, you will help yourself and/or others to reach freedom…..freedom from the tyranny of the sex offender registry.
— by Janice Bellucci
Read all Janice’s Journals
Does anyone have any idea on how we’ll be able to find out our tier when this finally goes into law? I imagine new cases will be told at time of conviction, or at least at some point during their supervision. But what about the tens of thousands of people who are now “free”? Will DoJ be sending out letters once everyone is tiered?
You left coasters amuse me. All of you that believe that instituting a tiered registry is some how a win should experience what it is like to live on the registry in Michigan. We have a tiered registry. This whole thing is an illusion. Once instituted the idiot politicians will use it as a means of re-election by submitting bills that allow once minor crimes to qualify for ever increasing tier assignments. I was prosecuted for having 6 deleted thumbnails of suspected under 18 nudes. Plea agreement in place I was assured all would be well. The judge agreed with the prosecutor that because I used a file sharing program I qualified for distribution which automatically placed me tier 2 where only 3 weeks before would have been tier 1. Your energy is being wasted on getting a tiered registry in place. You should be focusing on ridding us of the registry. While some may benefit in Ca by getting off of the registry, it throws others under the bus. My opinion is there is a zero tolerance policy for violating our constitutional rights. We are legally allowed to pursue happiness once our debt to society has been paid. I digress…
Great!…….for California, but what about the rest of the country, what about us……? This organization is all about constitutional sex offender laws…..all being done in California. There are 49 other states, and some of them need far greater help than you folks down there, who speaks for us…… I have no doubt that you are very good at what you do, but no matter how many people you represent you are still just one voice, all alone with nothing but your knowledge and compassion to fight a system hell-bent on our destruction. What you are doing is good, it’s needed, but it is not near enough. We need more than just lawyers fighting for us, we need US, ALL OF US. Real change only begins when the people speak out against what is wrong and why, and we ARE the people. We need to speak as a group, organized and led by someone who has the knowledge, compassion, strength and courage to teach us all how to show the people what is really going on in this country. We are all being subjected to, and “punished” by laws that violate not only the constitution of the United States, but even our basic human rights. Our families have been torn apart. Our loved ones are punished and kept separate from us for what……because they dared to love a good person who has been branded a sex offender for life.
We need someone to step up, take charge and lead us as a national organization seeking rightful treatment for this group of American citizens and there families. We must stop living in fear with our heads down and our hearts broken. PLEASE, someone out there is just five words away from starting something that is long overdue. Whoever you are……say “yes……I can do this”. I promise you we will follow, peacefully and lawfully, but with determination and steadfast belief.
Real change only begins when the people speak out against what is wrong and why……and we are the people.