(Long Island, NY) Assemblyman Dean Murray (R,C,I- East Patchogue) hosted a press conference today to highlight the need to fix laws pertaining to the sex offender registry to help keep our children and communities safe. Since the start of 2016, some level one sex offenders have been removed from the registry, while a State Appeals Court decision last year removed all local restrictions on where convicted sex offenders may reside. He was joined by his Assembly colleagues and Paul Alonzo, Program Manager of Parents for Megan’s Law. “In February 2015,…
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Congressman Nadler Introduces the Keep Kids Safe Act to Stop Sex Offenders Who Target Children from Owning or Acquiring a Gun
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), senior member of the House Judiciary Committee, introduced legislation to prevent guns from getting into the hands of sex offenders who prey on children. Federal law prohibits persons convicted of a felony from buying, selling, or possessing guns or ammunition, yet it is perfectly legal for someone convicted a misdemeanor sex crime against a minor to acquire a firearm. The Keep Kids Safe Act of 2016 would close this safety gap, making it illegal under federal law for someone convicted of a…
Read MoreCO: Supreme court says towns can ban sex offenders
Can a municipality pass an ordinance that effectively bans any registered sex offender from living there? That was the issue in Ryals v. City of Englewood, which the Colorado Supreme Court decided recently. Full Column Opinion
Read MoreMN: Appeals court hears challenge to constitutionality of Minnesota Sex Offender Program
A federal appeals court in St. Louis heard oral arguments Tuesday about whether the state of Minnesota’s sex offender treatment program violates the Constitution with its practice of indefinite detention. The case before the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals could force the state to make a series of politically unpopular reforms to the Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP), which has come under fire for its failure to release more offenders into the community. Full Article
Read MoreAfter Cosby’s accusers testify, Legislature weighs eliminating statute of limitations for sex crimes
After wrenching testimony that included accounts from three alleged victims of comedian Bill Cosby, a Senate committee on Tuesday gave its first approval to a bill that would allow sex crimes to be prosecuted no matter how long ago they occurred. Full Article SB 813 Leyva – Justice for Victims Act – Press Conference 4-12-16
Read MoreLiving with 290: If I had been straight
My experiences with 290 have shown me that contrary to everything I have ever believed, our law enforcement and judicial systems are both corrupt and unjust. Allow me to share my story, albeit a bit lengthy. I am an older gay male raised in a time when it was still considered mental illness. So I have not been open or out about my sexuality with the exception of some family and very close friends. If you were to meet me you would never know that I am gay. I’ve lived…
Read MoreLiving with 290: Don’t give up
I have been really touched by all the Story’s and family tragedy’s I have read here! I think you are all brave for sharing your stories. I can relate to all of you and I can relate to the negatives! I was always on the other side looking in, until it happened to me! I am from San Francisco, and 25 years ago, I was a San Francisco Police officer. And one night changed my life forever and in one hour of stupidity! I am now a RSO! I have…
Read MoreWI: Cottage Grove man admits setting fire to sex offender’s future home
MADISON (WKOW) — A Cottage Grove man Monday admitted to setting fire to the future home of a sex offender, and was convicted of felony arson. 51-year old Russell Speigle will be sentenced next month. The crime carries a maximum sentence of forty years. But a plea agreement between Speigle and the Dane County district attorney’s office involves prosecutors asking for no more than one year in jail for Speigle. Full Article Related WI: Man arrested on suspicion of burning house intended for sex offender
Read MoreAre Sex Offenders White?
There’s a striking difference between the sex offender featured in most journalism, activist campaigns and popular media and the guy who’s usually the focus of criminal justice attention. The latter is usually a person of color. The sex offender is portrayed as white. But is the sex offender really white? Full Article
Read MoreNE: State appeals decision barring state from adding boy to state’s sex offender list
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Nebraska’s attorney general is appealing a federal judge’s decision to block the state from putting a 13-year-old boy who moved to Nebraska from Minnesota on its public list of sex offenders. Full Article
Read MoreFL: Florida sex offender registry: double-digit growth
More than a dozen people a day walk into the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and register as sex offenders. The county is home to more than 2,200 of them. A recent study by researchers at the Florida Legislature found that the number of registered sex offenders living in Florida communities has increased 44 percent over the past 10 years. Full Article Related Fla. sex offenders figures announced, pushes surroundings awareness
Read MoreInternational Travel after IML
Discussion for the effects on IML on International Travel is to go here, since some of the other discussion threads have become inappropriate in topic or too large. We will move some of the more recent comments here. Please be sure to also see International Travel – Mexico International Travel – China / Thailand International Travel Experiences International Megan’s Law – International Travel Action Group International Travel Tag: International Travel
Read MoreDon’t Just Get Kids Off the Sex Offender Registry. Abolish It (Opinion)
Recently the New Yorker published a major article about juvenile “sex offenders.” The story, by staff writer Sarah Stillman, is far ranging, moving and important. Stillman writes about many young people who were caught doing anything from playing doctor to sexually coercing another person (usually another child). Convicted for sex crimes, some of these youth are incarcerated and subject to lifelong sex offender registration—a kind of social death sentence. Full Opinion Piece
Read MoreWA: Supreme Court – Records of low-level sex offenders are public
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Washington’s Supreme Court says information about low-level sex offenders can be released under the state Public Records Act. The 7-1 decision Thursday overturns a King County Superior Court holding that found the records were not subject to disclosure. The ruling came in a case involving Donna Zink, a Franklin County woman who requested a copy of the Washington State Patrol’s sex-offender database. Full Article Opinion
Read MoreFL: Concerning the Registrants at the Tracks
As mentioned in a prior post; the ACLU filed it’s Appellate Brief on behalf of FAC and the 200+ registered citizens living alongside the railroad tracks at the corner of 79th Street and NW 36th Avenue in Miami. Derek Logue of OnceFallen.com, who had traveled to Florida last week and visited the encampment initiated a post to which FAC replied. Since our reply contained a lot of information and could possibly be an action item for anyone (or group of people) who want to help these people, we’ve re-posted the…
Read MoreLiving with 290: Without an answer
I know that I posted this earlier in the general comments. Someone suggested that it should have gone under, living with 290. So for those of you who have already read this, I’m sorry. I have tried to edit this and make some changes. But I have done all of this on my phone, so I ask that you excuse me. I really don’t know how to tell this story, so I will simply start from the beginning. You will have to forgive me for my grammar is essentially non…
Read MoreIL: ACLU, EFF ask state supreme to strike down limits on free speech in cumbersome sex offender laws
CHICAGO – The ACLU of Illinois, joined by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, today asked the state supreme court to strike down the “incredibly broad scope” of limitations contained in the state’s sex offender registry laws. The amicus brief was filed in the case of ____ ____, a young man from downstate Normal who served a 12-month probation for a misdemeanor offense, which he completed. Though years have passed, Mr. ____ still is forced to navigate a series of onerous and cumbersome requirements under the State’s Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA). Full Article
Read MoreAL: Pastor wins round in freedom of religion lawsuit
A Chilton County pastor has won a round in his federal lawsuit challenging a state law that ended his residential ministry for sex offenders. U.S. District Judge Keith Watkins on Wednesday denied the state’s requests to dismiss the claims by Ricky Martin, who sued in 2014. Full Article
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