As the ACLU finally sues the City of Miami over the Julia Tuttle Causeway sex offender encampment (which apparently has over 140 people in residence due to the 2500 foot housing restrictions Miami has placed on those convicted of what Florida considers a sex offense, which could include sneezing at this point, who knows), this serves as a good time to remind all that Dave Aronberg has a contender for the Democratic nod for Attorney General.
That would be front-runner for the nod, state senator Dan Gelber.
With Gelber calling Miami home--and with the ACLU all over Miami--Florida sex offender residency restrictions have become THE out-of-the-closet issue for Gelber and Aronberg, both candidates hoping to become Florida's next Democratic AG.
It's time to hit AG candidates hard on the collateral damage of residency restrictions on families--who have committed no crime--yet are forced to live in dangerous neighborhoods in support of their registered loved one. (Read more about that impact here).
But back to Gelber.
Almost a year ago, Gelber was a NIMBY type. If he has since evolved, I can't find any trace. But of course, we'd all love to hear if the lights have finally turned on for Dan.
Because at least Dave is trying.
From Smashed Frog, Dan Gelber: NIMBY, 5/27/2008)
(...)
In Florida, many state legislators feel the laws against those convicted of a sex offense can't be too strict.
Dan Gelber (D-Miami Beach) is of such an opinion.
"I imagine if the state of Florida could simply expel sex predators they would," Gelber said. "I've always said on this issue, I think we should push the envelope and courts will push us back as appropriate."
(...)
Currently a state rep, Gelber led the charge against Florida state Senator Dave Aronberg's (D-Greenacres) failed bill that would have created a uniform statewide residency standard, preventing sex offenders from living within 1,500 feet from places children frequent.
Aronberg's proposed 1,500-foot statewide buffer actually increased distance by 500 feet; current state law dictates that sex offenders cannot live within 1,000 feet of places such as schools, although dozens of Florida cities have adopted their own, tougher laws.
Places like New Port Richey and Miami Beach.
Oops. Miami Beach. That's where Dan calls home.
His defense of local control over residency restrictions sounds a lot like NIMBY thinking.Gelber said he regularly checks the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Web site to keep track of the offenders in his neighborhood. He has to do whatever he can, he said, to keep offenders away from children -- including his own.
(Read more here).
TBO caught Gelber's take on residency restrictions during an May 2008 interview, Where Are Most Despised to Live, May 12, 2008.
And because such articles have a way of disappearing online, here it is, in it's entirety.
Where Are Most Despised to Live
Credit to NICOLA M. WHITE The Tampa TribuneTAMPA - No one likes them. And no one wants to be accused of defending them.
But state Sen. Dave Aronberg figured that even the most vilified members of society shouldn't be living under bridges, as a group of Miami sex offenders was doing last year because strict local laws eliminated almost all housing options for them.
So the Greenacres Democrat again pushed for a bill this legislative session that would create a uniform state standard for where certain types of sex offenders could live. If passed, the measure would have repealed standards enacted in places such as Miami Beach and New Port Richey, where sex offenders convicted of crimes against minors are prohibited from living within 2,500 feet of schools, day care centers and other places children gather.
Again, the legislation failed.
Although approved unanimously in the Senate, the bill died in the House, where lawmakers cringed at the idea of repealing popular local laws. In an election year, it was an even tougher sell, Aronberg said.
"Now, unfortunately, the problem's going to get worse before it gets better," he said.
Aronberg said he will push for the bill again next year. He will keep intact a loitering provision modeled after Hillsborough County's sex offender laws. In Hillsborough County, certain types of sex offenders are prohibited from lingering within 300 feet of places such as parks, schools and libraries.
"Legislators were shocked when I informed them that current law allows sex offenders to loiter in a park all day - to hang around a park with children all day," he said.
Sex Offender Ghettos
That part of the law didn't seem to chafe as many lawmakers as the residency restriction provision. Aronberg had proposed a uniform 1,500-foot statewide buffer; current state law dictates that sex offenders cannot live within 1,000 feet of places such as schools, although dozens of Florida cities have adopted their own, tougher laws.
In densely populated cities, having a wider buffer often leaves almost no areas where sex offenders can legally live. That can send sex offenders to nearby communities with more relaxed laws, creating what critics call sex offender ghettos.
More worrisome, sex offender rehabilitation experts say, is that it is harder for local law enforcement agencies to track down homeless offenders than those with a legitimate address.
"It's not fair for any municipality to send its problems to neighboring municipalities," Aronberg said. "This is a statewide problem. It needs to be dealt with throughout the state."
Such arguments failed to sway enough legislators, many of whom argued it was impossible to make laws against sex offenders too strict.
Issue Hits Close To Home
Leading the charge against the bill was Rep. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, a father of three children younger than 10 and a resident of Miami Beach, the first U.S. city to enact 2,500-foot buffers.
"I imagine if the state of Florida could simply expel sex predators they would," Gelber said. "I've always said on this issue, I think we should push the envelope and courts will push us back as appropriate."
The conflicting opinions show how emotional the debate can be.
Jill Levenson, a researcher at Lynn University who studies sex offender laws, wrote a letter to legislators this session saying no one wants to defend sex offenders, but there's no evidence that punitive housing restrictions prevent crimes.
However, in defending his position, Gelber said a convicted sex offender was arrested this month in his neighborhood, accused of exposing himself to young women. Gelber said he regularly checks the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Web site to keep track of the offenders in his neighborhood. He has to do whatever he can, he said, to keep offenders away from children - including his own.
"I've listened to police and the rehabilitation experts. They raise legitimate issues," Gelber said. "I still believe you can't just take away local control. You have to understand one size fits all has disparate effects on different communities."
Reporter Nicola M. White can be reached at (813) 259-7616 or nwhite1@tampatrib.com.
