A town in Connecticut passed a new law this week that bans registrants from virtually all of its public sites, including parks, recreation centers, event centers, swimming pools, trails, and open space land. The new law also prohibits registrants from attending school events even if their children are participating in them. The town’s decision to ban registrants was made about the same time as their public schools prepared to participate in “The Great Kindness Challenge”, an international program meant to show that kindness matters. The irony of these two events…
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Janice’s Journal: Why Did Senator Franken Resign?
U.S. Senator Al Franken has announced that he will soon resign. The public reason he gave for his resignation is that he has been accused of sexual misconduct. The real reason, however, may be something quite different. For how does a man, even a U.S. Senator, defend himself after he has been accused of sexual misconduct in a society that assumes guilt rather than innocence when a person has been accused of such an offense? A society that ignores important safeguards of the Constitution including that we are innocent until…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Say “No” to the Scarlet Letter
The federal government has done it again. They have issued not one, but two, press releases that reveal both the proposed language and the placement of a “unique identifier” on the passports of some registrants. How many registrants? Although the exact number is unknown, it is estimated to include hundreds of thousands of American citizens. That bears repeating. Hundreds of thousands of Americans will be issued a Scarlet letter by the federal government. A mark that will limit if, and where, they can travel both overseas and domestically. On what…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: The Stage is Set
The stage is set. The Governor has signed the tiered registry bill into law, a law that opens a wide gap in the dam of California’s “Lifetime Registry for All”. A dam that was in place for 70 years. It is now our job to widen that gap. The Tiered Registry will take effect in January 2021, about 3 ½ years from now. While it is truly unfortunate that those who will benefit from the “new” tiered registry will have to wait so long, the lengthy gestation period for the…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: The Path Forward for CA tiered registry (SB 384)
In the most recent step of the legislative process, the Assembly’s Public Safety Committee approved the newest version of the Tiered Registry Bill (SB 384) yesterday. The bill is now moving forward to the full Assembly for a floor vote in a few days where it may pass and if so, then on to the Senate the same day for a concurrence vote. The newest version of the Tiered Registry Bill was created behind closed doors and was made public only a few days ago. The new bill resembles a…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: A Bill Fails, A New Opportunity is Created
The struggle to pass the most recent Tiered Registry Bill (Senate Bill 421) is over. The Assembly Appropriations Committee stopped the bill yesterday when it refused to release the bill from the committee’s Suspense File. Because the bill was stopped, some registrants are breathing a sigh of relief. For if the bill had passed, they would have been identified as a registrant on the state Megan’s Law website for the first time. Because the bill was stopped, some registrants are in shock, perhaps in tears or worse. For if the…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Shame On the San Diego City Council
The San Diego City Council took the wrong action for the wrong reason last week when they failed to repeal the city’s residency restrictions which, if enforced, would prohibit registrants from living in virtually all of that city. The wrong action was taken by five members of the City Council who voted against repeal of the city’s residency restrictions. The reason for their votes is beyond comprehension. In many votes taken by elected officials, the elected officials will vote against an issue because it is unpopular and could adversely affect…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Freedom from Tyranny of the Registry
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…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: It Was a Miracle!
On the floor of the Senate yesterday, the Senate passed the Tiered Registry Bill (SB 421). It was a miracle! It was the first time, after three unsuccessful attempts, that a legislative body approved a tiered registry bill. The miracle maker is the bill’s author, Senator Scott Wiener, who assumed authorship of the bill after its original author withdrew. It is Senator Wiener who saw and spoke the truth about the registry….how it is broken and bloated….so bloated that is has become useless. It is Senator Wiener who gathered the support…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Next Two Weeks Could Make Huge Difference
The next two weeks could make a huge difference in the lives of more than 100,000 registrants and their families. That difference could be a decision by the Senate Appropriations Committee to release the Tiered Registry Bill (SB 421) from the committee’s Suspense File on May 25, the deadline for this action to be taken. The Senate Appropriations Committee’s decision will be based, in part, upon the budget analysis for SB 421. Therefore, it is important to understand what the analysis has to say. First, the budget analysis for SB…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Tiered Registry Bill is Reborn
The Tiered Registry Bill is reborn. We now have a second chance to end a 70-year-old law that requires individuals to register for a lifetime, regardless of the nature of their offense, the amount of time that has passed and whether they have re-offended. We almost lost this opportunity when Senator Ricardo Lara, the original author of the Tiered Registry Bill, withdrew his leadership. His withdrawal came less than three weeks before an important deadline, that is, consideration by the Senate Public Safety Committee. Those who support the Tiered Registry…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Perhaps It’s a Coincidence, Perhaps It’s Not
Perhaps it’s a coincidence, perhaps it’s not. The hearing dates for several bills, including Senate Bill 26 and Assembly Bill 558, have changed and keep changing. A single change is to be expected. Multiple changes for multiple bills is not. Could it be then that legislators are changing the hearing dates for these bills because it is more difficult to hit a moving target? Maybe, maybe not. In this time of uncertainty, one thing that is certain is that when a hearing date changes, new letters must be sent and…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Senate Bill 26 Has Been Stopped!
Senate Bill 26, which would have prohibited all registrants from visiting all schools for all reasons has been stopped! This early victory in the State Capitol came about, in part, because of the efforts of 36 people — registrants, family members and supporters — who lobbied in opposition to that bill a few months ago. In a series of meetings with members and staff of the Senate and Assembly, registrants explained how the bill would harm, not help, school children. They also explained that the bill could prevent them from…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Tiered Registry Bill Could Help More Than 90 Percent of Registrants
It has happened at last! A tiered registry bill has been introduced in the state legislature. Before looking at the substance of the bill (Senate Bill 695), it is important to look at those who are offering and supporting it. The bill’s authors are two powerful members of the state Senate — Senator Ricardo Lara, who chairs the Appropriations Committee and Holly Mitchell, who chairs the Budget Committee. The bill’s sponsor is the most powerful district attorney in California, Jackie Lacey of Los Angeles. And the initial supporters of the…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: We Have Spoken! We Have Been Heard! We Will Return!
We have spoken! We have been heard! We will return! Those three statements were uttered this week by 36 registrants, family members and supporters who met with elected officials and staffers in the State Capitol in Sacramento. It was the largest group EVER to lobby in support of registrant issues. It was the largest group EVER to describe the challenges faced by registrants and their families. They spoke about how hard it is to find a place to live. Landlords don’t want to rent an apartment to a family because…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: It’s Time to Topple California’s Lifetime Registry
Less than two weeks into the new year, it’s clear that we have a lot of work to do in the State Capitol. We are already facing a bill that would prohibit all registrants, including parents, from visiting all schools for all reasons as well as the promise of a bill that would end the state’s lifetime registry. It is understandable that Senator Connie Leyva would introduce a bill (Senate Bill 26) with a zero-tolerance policy toward registrants on school campuses. After all, the district she represents includes the City…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: The Many Wonders of a 4th Circuit Decision
The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals rendered an important decision yesterday, Does v. Cooper, that is full of many wonders. We can only hope that this wonder-full decision will serve as a guiding light for additional federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, in the future. The greatest wonder of the 4th Circuit’s decision was the Court’s insistence that state laws which prohibited some, but not all, registrants from visiting public and private locations must be based upon empirical evidence if those laws could cover locations where people exercise their…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: ACSOL Board Faced With “Sophie’s Choice” [updated with Guide to Tiers on Tiered Registry Bill]
During the five years in which this organization has existed, we have often heard a wish expressed – that registrants in California be treated differently, not the same. That wish was expressed in many variations including that registrants should be treated differently according to their current risk or that registrants should be treated differently according to the offense for which they were convicted. Those wishes are now nearing reality in the form of a tiered registry bill expected to be introduced in the state legislature early next year. As drafted,…
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