The new SORNA: legislative authority or administrative fiat?
By David M . . . Are you old enough to remember the oil crisis of the 1970’s and the two decades of 55MPH driving which followed? I am. In the mid ’80’s singer Sammy Hagar had a hit song titled, “I Can’t Drive 55,” which appears to be his personal protest against the creation of the so-called “National Speed Limit.”
“So-called” because the federal government has no constitutional authority to impose its bureaucratic will upon the sovereign states. “Then how did we end up with 20 years of 55 MPH limitations on our nation’s highways?” you might ask. It’s simple; the federal government may not have the ‘authority’ to impose its will, but after decade upon decade of concessions by “We, the People,” the federal government has been handed that power.
In this case, money equals power, and states which refused to adopt the speed limit saw a significant reduction in federal funding to their transportation systems. Some states held out, so funding was withheld in other areas as well, and the coercion tactic worked. The result was twenty plus years of 55MPH driving across the nation as every state was forced to “voluntarily comply.”
It wasn’t until the mid ’90’s before the policy was reversed, and states again had control over their roadways.
Because holding federal funds hostage and demanding a ransom of compliance worked so well, this fiscal blackmail was extended into other areas, including the AWA and “The Registry.” The DOJ has recently adopted a vastly more restrictive SORNA, not by congressional legislation as required, but by mere administrative fiat. In West Virginia, for example, the WVSP launched a massive and costly mail campaign persuading registered citizens across the state into signing documents agreeing to a 21-day prior notification requirement for international travel.
While this new SORNA restriction is not contained within the WV registry laws, any registrant who was frightened enough into going in and signing the document is now legally bound to comply with the policy mandate for the remainder of their term of registration; for many this means a lifetime of unwarranted travel restrictions.
Technically speaking, SORNA can only be forced legally upon individuals convicted under federal rather than state jurisdiction. Even so, the feds get around this, once again by administrative fiat.
The Adam Walsh Child Protection & Safety Act of 2006 established funding penalties for states which failed to substantially implement SORNA. Any state found to be non-compliant as determined by the DOJ SMART Office (Sex Offender Management, Apprehension, Registration & Tracking) has their Byrne/JAG award reduced by 10%. This amounts to a substantial amount as $187 million was awarded in 2021 to support local, state, and tribal law enforcement activities; thus, it pays to be “substantially compliant” with regard to SORNA.
The Byrne Grant is the primary provider of federal funding for criminal justice initiatives at the local and state levels, providing critical funding to support a wide range of law enforcement activities.
States determined by SMART to be non-compliant may apply to have their Byrne/JAG funding reinstated for the singular purpose of implementing SORNA. Twenty-two states have applied for reinstatement:
Because the reinstated funds can be used only for the implementation of SORNA requirements, even though they may not be codified in a given state’s registry laws, this can mean bad news for the registrants living in these jurisdictions, quite possibly resulting in more rules, more regulations, more restrictions, and vastly less freedom and personal liberty.
These changes need to be challenged in the courts.
All registrants and their families are urged to write their state and federal representatives demanding fair, just, and impartial sexual offense laws based upon the enormity of factual, evidence-based data. To stand silent is to condone and accept injustice.
People are crippled by these laws, by the years of living under the radar, and by the systems of entrapment they have to deal with. So in other words most people can’t fight because their hands are tied or cuffed…literally.
You’re drained of anything you need to survive, one way or another. But the police will target you especially because you’re easy prey. And especially because the funding is there as stated in this article. So absolutely if a person can write to the legislature they should. But it’s obvious at this point that people don’t matter. They’ve already elected to ignore the little people in pursuit of the votes and support of The People (big letters). That’s democracy. Yay.
The History of all attempted Democracy is that they always fall apart. Thus Ben Franklin said, “A Republic IF you can keep it!” We haven’t.
Take heart friend. Given the electronic roadmap to the residence of a vile offender idea has come full circle to the electronic roadmap to residence of a United States Supreme Court Justice idea; some inverse decisions (Fiat) are likely to result. It’s called natural law. How coincidental is that the world has new King upon the death of a Queen rule, and just as a woman’s right to federal abortion protection falls by the wayside in America. If nothing else, the founders attempted to divorce America from Imperial Rule. Much evidence of practical fiat exists in Energy and Border policy. Soon enough we’ll all be hanging our doors from hinges on both sides of the door jam. Simultaneously, Saloon style doors will be outlawed because “They are more likely than any other to pinch & hurt that effectively regulated armed felon walking into the saloon, church or school.
Great piece of journalism considering he is behind bars!
Hello, to deprive states of jag fund if there not fully compliant is the very definition Bribery: “Bribery refers to the offering, giving, soliciting, or receiving of any item of value as a means of influencing the actions of an individual holding a public or legal duty.” But nobody is holding the us government responsible for committing several Felonies of Bribery for every state they pulled this illegal crime. If you think our government, police, Sheriff judges don’t break the law, they do as a matter of fact it came out in 2020 that the local law enforcement covered-up and made any crime they committed disappear, if you don’t believe me I have the files and articles, which range from simple assault to rape to extortion and even spousal abuse. Where the real crime is : the government has citizens believe ” the us government wouldn’t commit a crime, if they arrested you , you must be guilty, law enforcement won’t lie there the good guy’s, right?” Wrong, not all law enforcement commit crimes but 50%-60% of all law enforcement and all involved do. This was on the news and my local newspaper.