By Michael M . . . Why does the public ignore the obvious unconstitutionality and overt cruelty of a sex offender registry that not only fails to accomplish its stated purpose – keeping our communities safer – but also condemns hundreds of thousands of registrants and their family members to a lifetime of humiliation, harassment, and the very real possibilities of…
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By Jenny Heineman and Brooke Wagner . . . As they crack down on sex workers and pass outrageous new laws, our politicians and moral crusaders make some bold claims: Hundreds of thousands of children are at risk of sex trafficking is one oft-cited figure. Kids are entering sex work at an average age of 13, says another. But is any of…
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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…
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By Lenore Skenazy . . . We are in the midst of a massive mommy moral panic. Across the country, mothers are writing breathless accounts on Facebook of how sex traffickers nearly snatched their children at Target/Ikea/the grocery store. While at Sam’s Club, one such post explains, “a man came up to us and asked if the empty cart nearby was…
Read MoreBy Sandy…. Sophie and Hans Scholl did it in Nazi Germany and were executed for high treason. Rosa Parks did it in segregated Alabama and sparked a revolution. And some writers in America, outnumbered and overwhelmed by politics and public opinion about the sex offender industry, are doing it and daring to expose the truth. The definition of what makes…
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By Sandy…. “Tell me no secrets; tell me no lies.” As the song lyrics say, I have always assumed that people don’t want to be lied to, that they want the truth from others. I have a friend, however, who says this is not true, and he makes a good case. The latest topic to be subjected to scrutiny is…
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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 MoreAnother false, inflated, misleading statistic.We should be used to them by now. The most infamous, of course, is the “frightening and high” recidivism risk assigned to those on the registry every time a politician opens his mouth to justify a new law or restriction targeting registrants. RSOL has dealt with that one in re-printing Steve Yoder’s excellent piece on the…
Read MoreIML Update Full Story on CARSOL The federal government filed a Motion to Dismiss the IML lawsuit this week. The government’s motion is based upon allegations that the plaintiffs in the case lack standing and that the challenge to the addition of a unique identifier to passports is not yet ripe. “The government’s Motion to Dismiss the IML lawsuit must…
Read MoreBy Tamara Lave..…. What sounds like a good law in a twenty-second sound bite sometimes turns out to be less clear when one digs below the surface. Such is the case with International Megan’s Law, which President Obama recently signed into law. International Megan’s Law requires those who committed a sex offense against a child to have a permanent stamp…
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