As reported by Broward Politics over at the Sun Sentinel (2/25/10), it would appear several state politicians are finally coming to grips with the unintended consequences of Florida's sex offenders laws.
But I think most still cling to the stereotype. You know, the creepy guy in a trench coat who hangs out in the parks.
(...)State Rep. Martin Kiar, D-Davie, disagreed with his colleagues.
He said the local restrictions are designed to “make sure that these deviants are kept away from our children. These proposals in Tallahassee would weaken your ordinances.”
If the state overrides the city, town and village restrictions, setting a rule prohibiting sex offenders within 1,500 feet of schools and other kid-friendly places, Kiar said, “it will bring these deviants closer to our kids.”
I'd like Kiar to define "deviants" for me. Would that be our family member or friend or neighbor who found themselves caught up in some low-level offense that state legislators have deemed sexual in nature?
Or possibly a teenage boy who wears the RSO label like some sort of permanent tatoo for sending out nude pics of his most recent girlfriend to any and all friends with a cell phone?
How about all those people who will never work again in a chosen profession because a) the license is lost due to the felony conviction or b) residence on the registry is the equivalent of leprosy as far as employer liability?
I could go on and on about regular people who have made a poor behavioral choice resulting in a lifetime sentence of registration as a sex offender, many of whom sustained and survived severe physical and sexual abuse themselves as a child.
(BTW, Kiar--as part of a Broward county commission task force--sat right alongside One of Us, an offender that helped make recommendations about laws governing where sex offenders can live).
And I loved this observation.
(...)
Wilton Manors Mayor Gary Resnick, president of the Broward League of Cities, said as a matter of principle the state shouldn’t meddle in the decisions the local governments have made.“The solution in every city is going to be very different,” he said. “A one-size-fits-all is not going to work here.”
Fairly ironic, this one-size-fits-all comment.
Because it certainly worked for the Florida Sex Offender Registry, lumping all offenders as if one and the same.
Florida Legislators. We are not who you think we are. It's time to undo the damage done.
Roll these laws back.
