We’ve come a long way…and have a long way to go
“The most important thing I got from last year’s conference was a sense of just how much progress has been made in the past few years. Sheri and I still vividly remember the first conference in Boston. The thing was conducted in relative secrecy (or at least discretion) because nobody was sure what would happen if our presence became known to the general public. In those days, the focus seemed more on just letting people know they weren’t alone, because not much progress was being made in the courts or the legislatures. When I attended last year’s conference, I was stunned at the difference and at how much progress has been made thanks to the hard work and dedication of a lot of people. Last year’s conference was energizing in a way I did not expect.”
John and Sheri
This response from two of our members summarizes very well what has happened in seven years. From secrecy, furtiveness, and fear to openness, advertising, and publicity. From huddling together and sharing fears and misery to public protests and bravely marching forward to demand rights and humane treatment. From seeing defeat after defeat in the courts and the emergence of more and more restrictive legislation to seeing favorable court decisions in state after state and states and jurisdictions backing down on restrictions and ineffective laws. From enemy voices drowning out the voice of reason with myths and lies to many voices joining in the insistence to look at the research and the facts and evidence—and being listened to!
Yes, we have come a long way.
And we still have a long way to go.
RSOL Conference 2015, our 7th annual conference, will emphasize the collateral damages of public registration. In spite of the gains we have made, we still have many, many thousands who cannot live in places fit to raise their children, who cannot find a job to support their families, who cannot visit a public park or enroll in a university or be part of their children’s school lives and activities.
This year’s presenters will speak to those issues. They will share their research and their knowledge and their personal experiences. The breakout sessions will bring you into the discussions as together you share and explore what is being done and what you can do to help move away from a public registration scheme.
If you have not registered, time is getting closer. Both the discounted registration fee and the group rate for hotels have been extended through June 1. Do not wait any longer. You do not want to miss this conference June 25-27 in Dallas, Texas. All information is on the conference site. Act now and join your brothers and sisters in moving our advocacy further toward regaining our rights as American citizens.
What i have noticed from a professional standpoint, in some conservative controlled and lightly liberal states, is that the registration requirements have been weakened somewhat with a drastic difference regarding paroled or probationed registrants compared to registrants no longer required to remain under supervision. It may seem minuscule but certainly it involves incentive-based conditions that are remotely sensible. The fight should come from the basic fundamental rights afforded by the constitution, and not merely accepted because the law says so. The legal ramifications in each state is sometimes interpreted differently by those sex offense registration teams or coordinators responsible for upkeeping. You have to know your rights going in the door rather than departing clueless. If civil rights or procedural rules are violated stand up and serve notice with rules and rights in hand. There are rare circumstances that occur and not every low hanging fruit gets yanked from the tree the same. I can give tremendous accounts where registry is not the absolute fix to prevention and how it should be retained only by law enforcement. Their are jobs merely created and sustained in government literally for these nuances bureaucratically beat-downed policies. We have become a nation of condemnation over liberation.
God so help every abused child or adult who has ever so suffered . The court and legislative bodies of government deserve keen and insightful candidates who carry the scroll of the constitution under their armpits.
Looking for answers regarding my 24yr old son. He was just givin a plea bargin which included registering as a sex offender. In his case there was no victim. He downloaded some stuff from an fbi sting site. That was 2yrs ago the cops showed up at his door 1 mo ago and tookhim to jail. He got out on a $5000 bond. On the 19th of may he went back to court and the gave him a whole slew of do’s & don’ts. And of coarse he has to register. To me that’s entrapment.. he was never read his rights when he was taken to jail. Mind you this young man has never been in trouble… not as much as a trafic ticket. He doesnt question anything but having to register. He has already lost his job for having to appear in court. Their has to be something that can be done to help this young man out.. like i said in the begining… there was no victim. There waa nothing found when they searched his house. This whole thing started in june 2013. He heard nothing till 1 month qgo. He did not do anything to anyone… i feel this is harsh punishment. Isn’t there anything that can be done to help this young man. Your time is appreciated… thank you so much.. concerned mom in oregon.
I am an author, previously published three times in the last century. I was convicted under my nom de plume of Edward Easton. Forced by SORNA to register as a sex offender under my real name following a seven year prison sentence, wrongfully imposed through highly illegal phishing activities of the United States Postal Service.
I copped a plea because I was threatened with a 30 year sentence by the prosecutor in my case. My public defender, prosecutor, and judge were women who were all severely biased against anyone coming under the rigor of the 1987 child porn law. In their minds I was guilty when charged.
SORNA is riding high in Illinois and many other states. Looking myself up online, I was shocked to see that my registration wrongfully implied that I had attacked a 16-year-old victim while I myself was 67 years old. This is patently false, as I was never accused or convicted of any such thing. My crime was basic journalistic curiosity, something that everyone who is spent his or her life in the arts has in spades. After authoring and producing some 250 television documentaries, I was working on a new project that involved the Congressional bullying of think tanks who happen to come up with politically incorrect, yet valid conclusions to controversial questions. In following this up I felt I needed more information about the whole child porn thing to be sure of the scientific ground on which I was to report on.
At the time of my arrest and conviction, I was woefully naïve about juridical procedure and how it works. I was stunned to discover just how much civil liberties in the United States had deteriorated, to the point where simple journalistic curiosity had become suddenly a heinous crime. My life from the point of that coerced plea was smashed and destroyed. I came out of prison broken and broke. I cannot afford a dream team to get justice. But that 1987 law has got to be changed!
Current sex offender laws, I know from personal experience is one of the main reasons the United States has but 4% of the world’s population yet 25% of the globally incarcerated. Under a sentence of lifetime supervision, I am treated just like a Jew in Nazi Germany. There are pages upon pages of state law in addition to federal law that harasses and deprives all those in my situation of any sort of life, liberty or pursuit of happiness.
The Pledge of Allegiance which we all had to recite as children in elementary school should be amended to read in the last line, and I quote “with liberty and justice for all who can afford it.”
From personal experience I can tell you that if you can’t afford it, you ain’t going to get it – not in these United States. George Orwell was right in his prediction, but 30 or more years too early.
I would just like to talk to someone that has been through what my finance has went through for the last 16 yrs. We don’t have the money to go back to court but we would like someone else’s opinion on his case. Thanks all information is greatly appreciated.