Source: ACSOL The U. S. State Department is proposing a significant change to passport applications. According to a notice published in the Federal Register earlier this month, the federal agency will add a statement to passport applications that requires an applicant to affirm whether he or she is required to register as a sex offender in accordance with the International Megan’s Law. “The addition of this requirement to passport applicants could be a blessing or a curse for those convicted of a sex offense,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. …
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FL: CALL TO ACTION: HB 1085 Moved to new committees: Infrastructure & Appropriations Subcommittee and Infrastructure Strategies Committee
Source: floridaactioncommittee.org 3/16/23 Florida residents, take action quickly! Major Concerns About This Bill: The bill states that all driver’s licenses and identification cards for people on the registry “shall have printed in the color red all information otherwise required to be printed on the front of the license or identification card.” HB 1085, lines 805-821 This bill was passed by a vote of 16 to 2 in the Transportation & Modals Subcommittee on 3.15.2023 as a result of a good deal of misinformation. The sponsor, Rep. Patt Maney, did not…
Read MoreWayne Logan: Card Carrying Sex Offenders
Source: Wayne A. Logan (Florida State University – College of Law) 3/22/22 Americans, it is commonly believed, have never been required to carry and show upon demand personal identification documents; the belief, however, is incorrect. Over time, select sub-populations have in fact been subject to such a requirement, including free-born and emancipated African-Americans until after the Civil War. This article examines the targeting of yet another disfavored sub-population: individuals convicted of sex offenses, who are required to register with government authorities. Today, roughly a dozen states require that registrants obtain…
Read MoreSupreme Court won’t consider whether states can require ID cards for sex offenders
Source: nbcnews.com 10/4/21 WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday declined to consider whether states can require ID cards or drivers licenses to identify people as convicted sex offenders. A Louisiana man, Tazin Hill, challenged a state law that required him to carry an identification card that included the words “sex offender” in all-capital letters after he was convicted of having sex with a 14-year-old girl when he was 32. Hill said the law violated the First Amendment by forcing him to convey the government’s message. A state court judge…
Read MoreGA: ‘Her death would not be in vain’: Petition could create new sex offender ID policy for ATL nightlife
Source: cbs46.com 9/30/21 ATLANTA (CBS46) — A new petition could make it harder for sex offenders to get into metro Atlanta bars and night clubs. The petition already has close to 10,000 signatures and it was started by friends of a local bartender who was kidnapped and raped. Chris Anthony said it doesn’t feel like it’s been almost two months since his friend 27-year-old Mariam Abdulrab was taken from him, “Honestly it still feels fresh you know when you don’t have any answers.” Police believe DeMarcus Brinkley kidnapped Abdulrab from her…
Read MoreLA: Lafayette case over Louisiana sex offender identification law could be heard by Supreme Court
Source: theadvocate.com 9/27/21 Louisiana attorneys may know this week whether the U.S. Supreme Court will review a case this term involving a state statute that compels people convicted of sex crimes to carry cards identifying them as sex offenders. High court justices were culling through possible cases to review in the fall starting Monday morning, including one in which former 15th Judicial District Judge Patrick Michot Sr. ruled in 2019 in favor of Tazin A. Hill, formerly of Duson, a convicted sex offender who altered his state-issued identification card to…
Read MoreAL: Gadsden person on the registry arrested for not carrying proper identification
Source: cbs42.com 6/22/21 ETOWAH COUNTY, Ala. (WIAT) — A Gadsden man was arrested during a traffic stop last week when authorities discovered he had a sex offense conviction in his past and did not meet the identification requirements under Alabama law. According to the Etowah County Sheriff’s Office, Timothy ____ was arrested during a traffic stop in the Gallant area on June 16. During the traffic stop, the deputy discovered Timothy had a sex offense conviction in his past and he was not carrying the required identification needed under Alabama…
Read MoreUK: People convicted of a sex offense may have ‘danger warnings’ stamped on passports and driving licences
Source: essexlive.news 6/20/21 Labour is calling for the change People convicted of a sex offense may have a ‘danger warning’ stamped on their passports and drivers licences, it has been reported. Labour MP Sarah Champion is calling on the DVLA and the passport office to mark the files of 100,000 people who are listed on the registry as having a sex offense conviction. The MP for Rotherham hopes the change will close a loophole whereby paedophiles change their names so that crimes do not show up during Disclosure and Barring…
Read MoreLA: Special IDs for people with a sex offense conviction: Safety Measures or Scarlet Letters?
Source: nytimes.com 6/15/21 Judge Patrick L. Michot, of the 15th Judicial District Court in Lafayette, La., said the notation was “not the least restrictive way to further the state’s legitimate interest of notifying law enforcement.” “It could be accomplished in the same way that some other states utilize,” he said. “Louisiana could use more discreet labels in the form of codes that are known to law enforcement.” Of the nine states that call for some sort of disclosure of sex-offense status on state ID cards, Louisiana and four others require…
Read MoreFL: Martin County deputies arrest multiple people listed on the registry for altering their driver’s licenses
[Source: wptv.com – 6/9/21] STUART, Fla. — The Martin County Sheriff’s Office is warning business owners to be on the lookout for doctored driver’s licenses when hiring potential employees. “So, on his license, apparently there is supposed to be something that states that he’s a “sexual predator” or something on his license and his has like a cigarette burn there,” said Hillary Hughes. Hughes said she recently unknowingly hired a new employee who was convicted of a sexual offense. The employee had altered his driver’s license to cover the “sexual…
Read MoreLA: House committee rejects Louisiana sex offender ID bill due to legal concerns
[theadvocate.com – 5/11/21] A bill that would require the driver’s license or identification card of sex offenders to carry a special designation was narrowly rejected Tuesday in the House Transportation Committee. State Rep. Larry Bagley, R-Stonewall, said his proposal was aimed at protecting citizens while also complying with a recent ruling by the state Supreme Court. The court last year struck down a state law that said IDs for sex offenders had to include the words “SEX OFFENDER” printed in orange. The measure failed 6-7 after a lengthy discussion. Critics…
Read MoreLA: Court strikes Louisiana’s ‘Sex Offender’ ID requirement
[startribune.com – 10/20/20] NEW ORLEANS — Louisiana’s requirement that people convicted of certain sex crimes carry a state-issued ID card with the words “SEX OFFENDER” printed on it in orange capital letters is unconstitutional, the state’s Supreme Court ruled Tuesday. The 6-1 ruling upholds a decision by a state judge in Lafayette who last year threw out a charge filed against a man who altered his card to remove the label. State attorneys had argued that the state had a legitimate interest in having the information on the ID card:…
Read MoreOrange passports for India’s migrant workers create ‘second class citizens’
[reuters.com] MUMBAI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – India’s plan to introduce orange-colored passport jackets for some migrant workers is discriminatory and could increase the vulnerability of workers often duped by middlemen who promise them jobs, said legal experts and campaigners. The Ministry of External Affairs said last week migrant workers who need emigration clearance – those who have not passed 10th grade at school – to travel to a group of 18 countries, mostly in the Gulf region, would soon be issued orange passports. “Passport holders with ECR (Emigration Check Required)…
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