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Texas wants to weaken their Sex Offender Registry

Leah - posted on 06/19/2010 ( 2 moms have responded )

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Dear Ladies of this group,

Please read the following article http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/parenting... to see how Texas wants to weaken their Sex Offender Registry, and possibly not comply with The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act (AWA).

You can also go to http://www.senate.state.tx.us/
then click on Senate RealMedia Video Archives at the top of the page
You want to watch the link for "Jun 10 Senate Committee on Criminal Justice" to see the whole hearing.

While I feel that there are areas of the law that need to be fixed to help the teenagers who get caught up in an age technicality, and now have to register as a sex offender; I also feel that the way that Texas wants to go about to help those so called "Romeo & Juliet's" is not the right approach. From my understanding from watching the video Sen. John Whitmire wants Sex Offenders that pose a "low" risk to be able to get off of the registry. These so called "low" risk offenders are people who they feel have a "low" risk of re-offending. As a survivor of Childhood Sexual Abuse I find this very disturbing because people like my abuser (who RE-offended on me for about a year and a half to two years) would be placed in the same category as teenagers who got caught up in a technicality of age. No one knows better than me of what my abuser is capable of, and just because they THINK that he is a "low" risk doesn't make it true.

I also found it rather interesting that Sen. John Whitmire allowed those sex offenders, that where there to speak out against the registry, to speak well past the 3 minutes that he said everyone would have, but when it came to people who were speaking on behalf of victims of sexual abuse he cut them off, and held them to the 3 minute rule. He didn't even give a teenager who is a victim of sexual abuse the chance to talk. Sen. John Whitmire showed more compassion to those who are on the Sex Offender Registry than he did to those who were speaking on behalf of victims of sexual crimes.

I hope that you take the time to read the article, and to watch the hearing.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

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2 Comments

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Leah - posted on 08/20/2010

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I recently read a summary of the Adam Walsh Act & yes depending on what catagory they are in depends on how long they have to register (Tier 1 15 yrs, Tier 2 25 yrs, & Tier 3 life...according to the summary of the Act). But even then they can apply to get off early for good behaivor & for taking certain classes. I don't really agree with this. And now, I'm even more confused as to why Sen. Whitmire (of Texas) is oppsed to this Act b/c that's exactly what he wants & the Act gives it to him.

I think that they want to provide a way for some of those on the list a way to reclaim their life back from the stigmatisim of being on the list, but a victim can never reclaim that. A person's life is forever changed by the acts of the sex offender, and I don't see why they should go so easy on them like that.

Jenny - posted on 08/20/2010

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Here in South Dakota those laws just went into effect.Now if you are consider low even people that expose them selfs are no longer on the list and the Meduim can get off after 5 years and then the med High can get off in 10 years and then the the high can never get off come on give me a break this is so totaly wrong

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