Response to President Obama and John Walsh Interview

I am disheartened and disappointed to learn that President Obama is willing to back the AWA without acknowledging that the current system is critically flawed. Stacking more laws onto a broken system will not fix the system. It will only serve to continue to add stress to the highly weakened structure making collapse inevitable.

The sex offender registry has become reminiscent as of late to the Star of David patch that was purposely attached to the clothing of those with Jewish descent by the Nazi’s during the days leading up to the Holocaust. Marked as undesirables they were discriminated against in a very malicious manner and labeled as monsters. This harsh and atrocious similarity I have drawn is met to convey how hate can lead us down a very tumultuous, very dangerous path toward self-destruction.

Although the original intention of sex offender legislation was admirable it has now degraded into a state of unconstitutionality, discrimination, and a false sense of security. Current sex offender laws, including the AWA, unfortunately encourage hate without understanding the consequences behind such a powerful emotion. Seriousness of the crime committed is often ignored as are risk factors for a repeat offense. Vigilante actions against offenders and their families are all too real placing their lives in great danger.

It is unfortunate that the sex offender label denotes such a negative connotation. Sex offenders conjure up images of dangerous pedophiles and sadistic rapists. But the cold, hard truth is that many people that bear the burden of a sex offender label and are forced to register their personal information publicly are non-violent, no risk offenders. In too many cases we have witnessed young lovers who have given in to their passions of youth, pranksters who chose to streak across a football field naked, and people who have relieved themselves in public places placed in the same category as that of a violent child rapist and murder.

I am willing to accept a system that registers violent and dangerous offenders with a high risk of repeat offense but I cannot in good conscience condone the actions of a system that violates and endangers the lives of good, decent people not deserving of such a cruel, merciless punishment. The very document that gave birth to our great nation has been blatantly violated by sex offender laws. To condone this is to invalidate the U.S. Constitution, an action I am unwilling to support.

Our children suffer each and every day because the system does not work. It is overtaxed with registrants who should NOT be on there. Law enforcement is overwhelmed by the growing number of individuals within the registry and they do not have the ability to differentiate in regards to risk factor. Even if they did the system is far too overburdened and stressed to be able to provide ample surveillance of the minority who are a threat. We have deceived ourselves as a nation, convinced that our actions and these laws are protecting us. We are blinded by our own hatred.

Fix the system. Stop stacking law after law on a broken system. Change the requirements for registerable offenses. Harsher punishments for the most violent, repulsive offenses. Reform is the only answer that will allow us to truly protect our children and communities, honor the Constitution, and prevent injustice from ruining the lives of good, decent people.

The Case of Chelsea King Calls for Sex Offender Reform

The recent case of Chelsea King, a 17 year old girl from San Diego County, California found murdered in a shallow grave is a perfect example of how our current sex offender legislation completely fails. John Albert Gardner III a convicted sex offender is currently under arrest for her murder. We, as a nation, live under an extremely deceptive ruse convinced that the current sex offender laws are protecting our children and our communities from the monsters that lurk about. This false sense of security is putting us at an even greater risk as we bury our heads in the sand and pretend that by stacking more and more laws on a broken system it will rectify the situation.

The reason our current sex offender laws fail is quite simple…too many people whether we choose to believe it or not are being forced to register as sex offenders who are of absolutely no threat to our children or society. With these restrictive and damaging labels being passed out like candy by our judicial system the system is becoming extremely overburdened. Law enforcement is having a difficult time keeping up and focusing on those individuals who could pose a very real threat to society like John Gardner since everyone is lumped together in the registry.

Dangerous criminals like John Gardner are slipping through the cracks and hiding being all of those people who are of no threat to society. People caught urinating in public, young lovers caught in a Romeo and Juliet scenario, and so on are being added to this system daily without much distinction from a dangerous repeat child molester or violent rapist. If we want to continue to bury our heads in the sand and justify these absurd laws and labeling schemes then we will see more cases like Chelsea King. I, for one, refuse to allow that to continue to happen.

Improper sentencing and the continued misuse and exploitation of the current overburdened sex offender registration system are failing miserably to protect our children and our communities from the small amount of real threats that do exist. We need to open our eyes and our minds to the fact that reform is the only answer in fixing a once well-intended system.

In response to such a devastating story oftentimes lawmakers and politicians will start stacking a vast array of new laws on top of the broken system trying to convince an emotionally devastated populace that this will make a change for the better. This is a most notable move practiced during election time. Instead it hurts good, decent people who bear the label but are of no threat and gives us a false sense of security. Wake up America!

The sentencing structure for particularly heinous crimes needs to be re-evaluated and revamped. Those people who pose not risk to children or society should not be included on the registry. Lawmakers, politicians, and law enforcement need to be held accountable for their actions. Career advancement opportunities, election propaganda, and financial prosperity should not be the deciding factors in incarcerating individuals and labeling people as monsters for their entire lives. This will not protect our children or our communities. This is primarily why sex offender legislation fails and why our children and our communities are suffering such tragedies as that of Chelsea King.

How can we continue to tolerate a broken system that claims to protect our children and our communities but fails to live up to this promise? How can we tolerate watching good, decent people suffer extreme violations of civil rights under the false guise of protection and security? We need to demand the system be fixed so that there are no repeats of Chelsea King, Adam Walsh, and Megan Kanka. No, I for one will not allow our children or good, decent people to continue to suffer at the hands of an obviously broken and exploited system. Silence is no longer an option. The time to demand change is now!