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    FAQ: Why Public Sex Offender Registration Laws Do Not Work and Short Be Abolished

    Not everyone who is on the Public Sex Offender Registry has Molested a child or Raped someone.

    People deserve a second chance. Being on the registry gives NO SECOND CHANCE.

    Rights don’t defend themselves. People have only those rights they are willing and able to unite to defend, with armed force if necessary. If you don’t defend others when their rights are violated, don’t expect anyone to defend yours , and those rights will be violated if they are not defended.
    — Jon Roland, 1994

    The National Public Sex Offender Registry, Sex Offender Registration Notification Act, (SORNA) and the Adam Walsh Act are counterproductive to the safety of men, women and children in society.

    The Public Sex Offender Registry so stigmatizes all who are placed upon it that they cannot:

    ·   Secure Employment

    ·   Secure Housing

    ·   Protect their innocent children from being traumatized by the stigma as well.

    Placing the name, age, address, crime, place of employment and many pieces of information on a publicly accessible website creates a state of constant instability for the ex-offenders and their families. Many professionals have addressed this issue.1,2

    Employment for Ex-offenders

    Employment is basically not an option as all job applications ask if the prospective employee has ever been convicted of a sex crime. Not only that, but employers do not want to wear the stigma of having an employee listed on the public shaming sex offender registry as working at their business. Employers fear loss of customers due to the stigma.

    Housing for Ex-offenders

    Anyone who is on the public sex offender registry faces huge challenges when seeking to rent housing. Not only is there residency restrictions which make it almost impossible to find suitable housing in many cities but also many rental applications ask if a person is on the registry…once that is disclosed.. the applicant is denied.

    Effects of the Public Sex Offender Registry on the Innocent Children of Ex-offenders

    The innocent children of ex-offenders suffer great amounts of pain and humiliation due to their parent being on the registry. The registration laws were created to protect children from being raped and molested. But in fact, the very registration laws created to protect children are the tools used by government and state law enforcement to rape and molest innocent children with their laws.

    Children of ex-offenders have been found to not only be bullied, ostracized, ridiculed, humiliated, excluded and treated as lepers by fellow students and neighbors in their communities but also have suffered by having to live substandard lives economically due to the parent not being able to find employment or start their own businesses due to the stigma of being on the registry.

    The innocent children of ex-offenders should not have to undergo all the stigma of their parent being on the registry. But they do. These laws have not been shown to protect anyone or make society safer in many studies but they have been proven to harm the innocent children of ex offenders who are seeking to begin a second chance after having paid their debt to society.

    Bigger Government at Tax Payer’s Expense for Laws Which Are Proven to Be Not Only Ineffective at Protecting Society but Also Increase the Potential for Recidivism of the Ex-offender

    SORNA and the Adam Walsh Act seek to expand the Public Sex Offender Registry and all the attached laws and regulations. SORNA and the Adam Walsh Act seek to increase the number of support staff nationwide and have YOU the tax payers fund it. Even though many studies by professionals not only state the registry and residency restrictions do not make society safer, but also cost billions of dollars in tax payer money.

    All Who Are on the Registry Are Open Targets for Vigilantes, Many Have Already Been Killed and Assaulted for Simply Being on the Registry

    This information clearly shows being on the registry makes a person and their family a target for murder and assault. This includes the innocent family members of ex offenders.

    Many Who Are on the Registry Are Banned by Law from Practicing Their Religion

    As many churches have children who attend, as worshiping God is a Family setting…many persons on the public sex offender registry who seek to attend church are not permitted to do so by law.  Even though many of these people have never harmed or touched a child, they are banned from parks, churches and other places where children congregate.

    Education, Proper Sentencing and Treatment Is the Key

    Educating society about how to protect themselves and their children from sexual abuse should be the very most important aspect when seeking to reduce the occurrence of sexual abuse. Teaching parents exactly Who is a danger to their children. Anyone whom they trust enough to leave alone anywhere with their child is the person who could molest them. Fathers, Step Fathers, Grand Parents, Brothers, Cousins, Uncles, Pastors, Priests, Youth Leaders, Teaches, Coaches, Music Instructors…the list is endless… Anyone who you leave your child alone with can be the one who molests them.

    Proper Sentencing of those who are convicted of sexual crimes is another key to solving the sexual abuse problem in America..

    Sex and Violence in the media

    One other huge aspect, all the sex and violence in the media, game consoles, television, theaters, and yes, the internet has been shown to have a direct impact on behaviors.

    In Summary:

    The stigma associated with the public sex offender registry so disables the person who is on the registry as to prevent them from having the ability to secure employment, housing and being safe from being murdered by vigilantes. The children of ex-offenders are so traumatized by being labeled children of perverts so as to cause them to be branded as lepers by their peers.

    Those who abuse others need to be dealt with by our Criminal Justice System. If the job of catching, trying and sentencing a person for their crime is done properly, there is no need for a public sex offender registry.

    Dangerous people should not even be sent back out into society in the first place.

    Releasing a person from prison then branding them as an outcast, a leper and heaping so many regulations and laws upon them that they are Setup to fail is not humane nor is it Justice. Not only ineffective and harmful to society, but also very expensive to tax payers.

    The public shaming of ex-offenders needs to stop. The public sex offender registry needs to be abolished and outlawed nationally.

    * Credit for this article is given to http://www.change.org/cfcamerica/petitions/view/the_national_public_sex_offender_registry_needs_to_come_down


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    ___________________________
    H. Michael Steinberg Esq.
    Attorney and Counselor at Law
    The Colorado Criminal Defense Law Firm of H. Michael Steinberg
    A Denver, Colorado Lawyer Focused Exclusively On
    Colorado Criminal Law For Over 40 Years.
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