Category: Editorials

The Cartooning of America

The original intent of the registry;   The national registry was designed to keep track of the most violent and predatory offenders, not low-risk and non violent offenders.  Since that time the registry has grown and due to the AWA many low-risk and non violent offenders have been reclassified. 

Springing from this massive database of offenders comes the money brokers who have seen the public frenzy created by this out of control registry system.  They come in all forms from large GPS manufacturing companies to small upstart so-called newspapers.
   
The tactics used by these quazi public servants are questionable at the very least, on the other side of the issue they beg for a full investigation by the FBI into the campaign used by these companies to control public opinion for profit.

Let

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When Legislators Fail to Protect the Public and Courts Fail to Protect the Constitution.

Ineffective and counterproductive sex offender laws have swept across the nation.  From the national registry to local residency restrictions, lawmakers have failed to heed the words of experts in the field of sex offender issues. Instead they took a hard line approach that was popular with an uninformed public. In doing so they have not only failed the country but they have also stretched the fabric of the constitution far beyond the point of easy return.

At the same time the courts have given a series of nods to laws that, if they were not aimed at sex offenders, would have been cast aside as ridiculous. These laws have included ex-post-facto elements (additional punishment after the fact), and they also fail the equal protection aspect of the constitution.  Another concern has been the First Amendment. Some courts have found that sex offenders no longer have the same rights to First Amendment protection, while other courts have ruled that the requirement of a sex offender to turn over his internet identifiers does not fall under the First Amendment

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