From a registrant: “The choice is yours.”
A guest post by Roger….
Fellow registered citizens, I live in California. I never, ever wanted to take time to fight offender-hating bills. I thought others would do it. I rationalized that I wasn’t a great speaker. I thought that I couldn’t take time off from work to drive to the capitol and speak before public safety committees.
However, after years of watching anti-offender bills stacking up and making my life miserable, I realized that hiding and remaining scared and silent–like a rabbit hiding in a hole–and hoping for someone to protect me DOESN’T WORK. Politicians will reach into our hiding holes with legislation and pull us out into the cold and to slaughter! They assume that nobody is going to fight back.
But in California, we DID fight back this year! AND WE WON BIG TIME! We stopped four (count ‘em!) nasty bills! The politicians were so used to no resistance to offender bills that they were shocked when a bunch of us showed up looking professional and explaining respectfully in just a few words how each bill would destroy our attempts to be law-abiding, productive citizens. The politicians said that they had never actually talked to an offender, and it swayed their votes, along with the government statistics showing these punitive bills don’t work.
If I can do it, you can too! Please don’t just sit on the sideline! Click the Donate link on this page. Visit this website weekly. Tells others that RSOL offers hope, which offenders desperately want to hear. PLEASE GET INVOLVED so RSOL can stop legislation that would make your lives living nightmares. Having people lined up at the mic to share why this bill is a bad idea will defeat bad bills. And taking action will decrease our fear because we are being proactive, not just reactive.
The choice is yours: endless bad bills that make your lives almost unendurable or fresh hope by taking action. Read our progress in California at CA-RSOL.
California RSOL is extremely blessed to have a competent and courageous leader in Janice Bellucci. She has led the way for over 3 years. As her efforts and significant results resonate across the state and this country EVERY registrant in California and beyond owes her an enormous deal of gratitude, even if they do not know she exists.
That said, even she cannot accomplish anything by herself. She is supported by a small and growing number of people who are either affected by these draconian laws or are strong believers in their inherent evilness. These are people who write letters and make phone calls to legislators, show up to hearings on every level of government, donate their talents, effort and money to the cause. In different ways, whatever fits someone’s comfort level, but each in a meaningful way.
Show up, stand up, speak up. If ‘Roger’ and I can do it, so can you!
I’m in IL and my 18 yr old son is now on this horrifying list. He is so young and really doesn’t understand why. He’s in jail and we have no idea what to expect or when he’ll be home. He still talks about his life dreams and goals when I see him once a week or the seldom phone call. My sweet (virgin) boy was taken advantage of by an aggressive young girl and he’s paying the price. She gets to sleep in her own bed every night. My son opens his eyes and see’s bars. He hasn’t been outside in over a month. He wants to be a pilot and loves star gazing, Weird Al and hot Cheetos. There are no words to describe this. My heart feels like it weighs a million pounds.
O i do understand you so very well
.my son is in similiar situation in Texas.
The state of California is truly blessed to have Janice Bellucci protecting every registrant. I was blessed to be asked by Janice to join the board almost two years ago. The other blessing I received was to gain my freedom from the civil commitment law; I spent four years at the state hospital in Coalinga. My experience, of incarceration and the civil commitment process, is available to registrants and family members who have a loved one in prison, or in a state hospital. I know there are many questions of what to do to avoid or escape civil commitment, and I know the feeling of hopelessness that grows. It was Janice who had the foresight to see the many facets affecting registrants and she continues to expand the impact of her legal stand that no registrant should be mistreated due to their past. We are having our yearly board meeting in Los Angeles next month, and I am anxious to attend since I missed last years meeting due to having my own issues of being homeless. I am blessed to be part of an organization that is determined to create changes that help all of us live our lives without the fear of continued punishment. One goal to work on in your state: find your Janice. Begin to shape your future by taking part in, and contributing to an organization that wants to help you. For that effort you will be blessed.
This article by Roger is proof that there is strength in numbers. I, too, am a registrant whose only crime is living in a state where possession of any nude depiction of someone under age 18 … partial or fully nude … is considered child pornography. There is no distinction between sexually provocative poses, close ups of chest or genitals, molestation, and real or simulated sex from non-graphic semi or fully nude depictions. “One size fits all.” This is not only a subjective description of what constitutes child pornography, but a draconian method of just saying possession of any nude depiction of someone under the age of 18 should be punished the same way. How simple conservative majorities on appellate courts can find cleaver ways of getting around the 8th Amendment and claim that ALL “one size fits all” sex offender punishments do not violate our 8th Amendment rights goes beyond unconscionable, it IS unconstitutional! We need to join together to fight these federal and state laws that cause way more harm than good. I’m not a leader, but I am more than willing to join an organized fight against sex offender laws and registrable offenses. I hope RSOL will organize in all 50 states so we can do this soon!