On October 31 at 5 p.m. eastern time, NARSOL in Action took to the airwaves for its second annual Halloween marathon/call-in hotline, launching a full five hours of Halloween reports from around the nation as well as informative input from distinguished attorney guests and host Larry. Attorneys King Alexander, Janice Bellucci, Paul Dubbeling, and Guy Hamilton Smith were with us…
Read MoreTag: passports
Passport revoked
By Scott . . . I’m on the board of Illinois Voices for Reform and have been actively involved with the organization since 2012. I am on the registry for life as currently required by Illinois law due to an incident involving a minor back in 2008. I served two years of probation and successfully completed sex offender counseling in…
Read MoreNARSOL gears up to challenge Int’l Megan’s Law
By NARSOL . . . Congress’s enactment of legislation permitting the State Department to mark the passports of registered citizens and notify nations about their pending travel is reprehensible. It is beneath the dignity of the United States to brand its own citizens with a mark of derision and shame, a mark that will very likely close a great many…
Read MorePassport “identifiers” will not accomplish intended purpose
By Guy Hamilton-Smith . . . On October 30th, the State Department announced that passports of people who are required to register as sex offenders because of an offense involving a minor will be marked with a “unique identifier” that will read: The bearer was convicted of a sex offense against a minor, and is a covered sex offender pursuant to 22 United States…
Read MoreInternational travel re-visited
By Sandy . . . Before the passage of IML, NARSOL (at the time, RSOL) published a blog post offering a resource to information about international travel. Paul Rigney, founder of RTAG, was interested in gathering as much anecdotal material as possible from registrants about what they encountered in their travels or their attempts to travel. This post has garnered more…
Read MoreRep. Smith’s arithmophilia over pedophilia doesn’t add up
By Sandy . . . A recent press release from the office of Congressmen Chris Smith, author of the bill which became International Megan’s Law says, “One year to the date of its enactment, Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) reports that the International Megan’s Law is already having the intended effect of reducing the threat of child sex tourism.” The proof…
Read MorePutting IML into perspective
By Sandy . . . International Megan’s Law is without a doubt a waste of time and money and will cause harm in lives. Just as with regular Megan’s Law, research shows that its ability to offer any actual protection to children at risk of sexual harm is a few fractions of a percent above zero. The concerns are real, and…
Read MoreCalifornia IML challenge dismissed as premature
Associated Press . . . A lawsuit challenging a law that requires a marker to be placed in the passports of people convicted of sex offenses against children is premature because the marker provision is not yet in effect, a federal judge said Friday in a ruling dismissing the suit. U.S. District Court Judge Phyllis Hamilton said it was also…
Read MoreThe fight goes on
By now everyone knows that the motion for a preliminary injunction in the IML case has been denied by a federal court in California. The mainstream news reports the details here and here. In brief, the judge felt a ruling at this point was premature because it is not yet clear what form a passport identifier might take. In legal jargon,…
Read MoreCollateral damage: hearth and home and dreams of Paris
By Dolley Madison….. In spite of strong opposition on the part of advocacy groups and from a significant number of very credible journalists and media outlets, the legislation known as International Megan’s Law passed and was signed by the President. For all who have ever been convicted of a sexually based offense, this has serious implications for any future plans…
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