Good one and spot on!

As I have mentioned many times, the registry as we know it will have to be defeated piece by piece. The entire registry may never be abolished in my lifetime or the lifetime of many of the members here, but we can concentrate on knocking down the individual restrictions which grew from the registry.

It is these individual restrictions---such as residency restrictions---- that make life so onerous for registrants and their families.

The best and most effective method is through court challenges. If a higher court---usually a Supreme Court--- rules that part of the registry is unconstitutional or illegal, there is not much the legislators can do. They can attempt to wordsmith and change the law a little to get around the court decision, but that is not always possible.

One only need to look at what happened in Oklahoma, Ohio, and Maryland within the last few years to see how a court decision can result in the removal of thousands of registrants from the registry.

Now, take note. These were all STATE decisions and the Supreme Courts of each respective STATE ruled that parts of the registry violated the STATE constitution, not the federal constitution.

At the present time, we can make good gains in the state courts, but unless the U S Supreme Court decides to take up the question of the registry again, there will be no landmark decision on a federal level. It is anybody's guess when or if they decided to revisit the 2003 decision, but even then, Roberts, Scalia, Thomas, and Alito scare me to death and I am not as certain as many are that they would rule in our favor.

This is why it is so important to get involved in your state chapters, as many are doing good work to fight these laws.

Hoping that the politicians start to rescind some of these laws and stop passing new laws that affect sex offenders is an "iffy" proposition indeed. They have found a formula that works to keep them in office and they will not all of a sudden out of the goodness of their heart realize that many of these laws are unfair and abolish them. At this time, I don't think using the politicians is a very hopeful proposition. Yes, we need to educate them and work on them, but I don't expect the results to be effective.

Educating the masses is a better solution than using the politicians, but this will still be a slow process. There are a lot of bigots out there and nothing will ever change their minds. They have found someone to hate, and it will be difficult to ever change their minds. We are doing a good job of education those that are open to learning but so many people are "willfully ignorant" and don't even want to hear the facts.

Using the courts is the best method right now, in my opinion.

rewdiazepam

Good to see you here again Dave.

I totally agree with this article. There isn't a one silver bullet that will take down the registry completely. This IS a long fight. This has to be taken at one step at a time. If your state's chapter is advocating for a change and it doesn't benefit you, still get behind them and support them. They are attacking the registry one brick at a time. Attacking laws they have grounds to fight, or reform laws that will help open doors to more reforms that can benefit you and your LO's.

I advocate and fight with CARSOL. Their actions may not benefit us, or hubby, but they will help many other families. I don't fight just to get what I want, I fight to help all those affected by the registry.

Not everyone can be an advocate, but everyone can talk to others about how the registry affected us, and how it didn't protect anyone. We can write legislators about proposed bills - our support or why we are against it, and our votes for those who enact these aweful laws. We all can be involved in the fight, in one way or another. Some are more visible, like those who showed up at the Rally in Tally, and there are some who are less visible but talk to friends, family, and our legislators.

Yes, Dave, you have been away far too long.

We need you here and the job you do is invaluable.

Don't stay away for so long next time. We old codgers need to stick together to keep these young whippersnappers in line. ha ha

rewdiazepam

good one!!!!

Good article. One problem with many state legislatures is that with term limits, by the time a legislator becomes familiar with the issues, they are no longer able to run for office. What effect does it have on the legislative process - how can good laws be written - when so many people in a legislative body may not have any idea how to craft good legislation in the first place, much less the effects the laws have on everyday people.