American "Accountability" Foundation founder Thomas Jones disses SCOTUS pick because she's skeptical of the sex offense registry

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, Biden's pick to replace Justice Breyer on SCOTUS, wrote an article way back in 1996, saying what we all know about the registry -- the registry increases vigilante violence and is punishment as well as bad public policy. 

It seems this right wing nut is triggered by the TRUTH. 

https://www.theblaze.com/news/bidens-pick-for-supreme-court-ketanji-brown-jackson-once-argued-judicial-system-is-unfair-to-sex-offenders

Biden's pick for Supreme Court, Ketanji Brown Jackson, once argued judicial system is 'unfair' to sex offenders

Chris Pandolfo, Feb. 25, 2022

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson once argued in an article that the judicial system in America is "unfair" to sexual predators.

Jackson, whom President Joe Biden has nominated for the U.S. Supreme Court, authored an unsigned "Note" for the Harvard Law Review in 1996 calling for judges to change their analytical framework for evaluating the constitutionality of certain state sex offender statutes. She disclosed authorship of the article to the Senate Judiciary Committee after she was nominated to serve as U.S. district judge for the District of Columbia by President Barack Obama in 2012.

In the article, Jackson wrote, "In the current climate of fear, hatred, and revenge associated with the release of convicted sex criminals, courts must be especially atten­tive to legislative enactments that 'use[ ] public health and safety rhetoric to justify procedures that are, in essence, punishment and detention.'"

Her article took issue with how some state legislatures at the time enacted laws to regulate the release of sex offenders. Examples she cited include requirements for sex offenders to register with local law enforcement officials, notify community members of their presence, undergo DNA testing, and submit to civil confinement for an indefinite term.

Don't miss out on content from Dave Rubin free of big tech censorship. Listen to The Rubin Report now.

"Although many courts and commentators herald these laws as valid regulatory measures, others reject them as punitive enactments that violate the rights of individuals who already have been sanctioned for their crimes," Jackson wrote. "Under existing doctrine, the constitutionality of sex offender statutes depends upon their characterization as essentially 'preventive' rather than 'punitive,' yet courts have been unable to devise a consistent, coherent, and principled means of making this determination."

The article discusses this distinction between "preventive" and "punitive" legislation and criticizes how judges have previously approached the constitutionality of certain sex offender statutes.

"This Note maintains that, even in the face of understandable public outrage over repeat sexual predators, a principled prevention/punishment analysis evaluates the effect of challenged legislation in a manner that reinforces constitutional safeguards against unfair and unnecessarily burdensome legislative action," Jackson wrote.

She argued that judges should not "rely on legislative intent" to determine whether a state sex offender statute violates the Constitution, and she rejected other analytical frameworks established by court precedent at the time.

"Although '[a precise] analytical solution is almost impossible to construct,' this Note suggests that such a principled approach in­volves assessing the impact of sex offender statutes and deeming the laws 'punitive' to the extent that they operate to deprive sex criminals of a legal right in a manner that primarily has retributive or general­ deterrent effects," she wrote in her conclusion.

The note authored by Jackson was unearthed by the American Accountability Foundation, a conservative nonprofit watchdog group that has scrutinized several of Biden's nominees.

“Once again, Joe Biden’s White House has failed in the vetting process by nominating a radical Leftist like Judge Brown Jackson to the highest court in the land,” AAF founder Tom Jones said in a statement. “Americans want our judicial system to protect children and citizens from sexual predators. Judge Brown Jackson’s radical position raises questions on her suitability to serve on the court. Is she more interested in social justice engineering or administering justice?”

President Joe Biden on Friday announced that Jackson will be his nominee to serve on the United States Supreme Court after Justice Stephen Breyer retires this year.

Crooked ex-Albuquerque Police Chief Raymond Schultz found a new scheme, peddling Big Brother traffic cams

Former Albuquerque Police Chief Raymond Schultz left the Albuquerque PD in 2013 under a "cloud of bad morale, a string of scandals and intense scrutiny... by the media and the U.S. Department of Justice." Excessive force and police shootings were a part of Schultz's legacy. There were also investigations into his alliance with Taser International, which included no-bid contracts while Schultz was acting as a consultant while still working for the APD. 

But it didn't take Schultz long to land a new job both as a cop and as a peddler of controversial police technology. If you want to become a crooked cop, just go the Buford T. Justice route and go to Texas, and now Schultz is peddling Orwellian traffic cameras, and in doing so, he admits shows how these cameras can be abused, including investigating a Registered Person just going to church. 

https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/houston-area-cities-use-automatic-license-plate-readers/285-0d7e99f5-d1ec-4914-8389-392dc5343f6c

Automatic license plate readers helping to deter crime in Houston-area cities

The Memorial Villages Police Department recovered 25 times as many stolen cars after installing ALPRs.

Author: Matt Dougherty

Published: 10:35 PM CST February 21, 2022

Updated: 10:55 PM CST February 21, 2022

HOUSTON — Some Houston-area cities are fighting crime by installing virtual gates around their communities. Dozens of cameras are taking millions of pictures of driver's license plates each month.

One local police chief said the technology helped catch 25 times as many suspects in wanted vehicles as the year before.

Each time a vehicle passes one of the automatic license plate reading cameras in the Memorial Villages, a picture is taken.

“What we’re doing is we’re scanning license plates as they pass by,” Memorial Villages Police Chief Raymond Schultz said.

It reads, scans the plates, then checks them against law enforcement databases for stolen or wanted vehicles.

If there’s a hit...

“Notice automatically goes to our dispatch center and our officers in the field,” Schultz said.

The Memorial Villages' network of 30 cameras dotting the nine square-mile territory west of Houston proper is a game-changer, Schultz said.

“Not only helping protect the community but also helping solve crimes throughout Houston,” Schultz said.

The automated license plate readers, also known as ALPRs, were put into service across the Memorial Villages last year.

The chief says the technology helped officers to recover 75 stolen vehicles in 2021.

The average before ALPRs was three per year.

“Pretty darn good,” Schultz said.

He says 61% of the “hits” from the ALPRs last year were from vehicles involved in crimes.

“We’ve arrested people from stolen cars to stolen mail, home invasions, people that are identity thieves, people in possession of other stolen property, people in possession of stolen firearms, wanted fugitives, you name it,” Schultz said.

The residents who spoke with KHOU 11 said the addition of ALPRs to their community has been a good thing.

“If we’re going to be part of society, I think we need to have rules and they need to be enforced,” one Memorial Villages resident said. “So if we have the ability to have high technology to help catch the criminals who are driving through I think that’s great.”

The technology doesn't come without its critics.

“They can be appropriate and even beneficial tools to solve serious crimes, but without those safeguards, the tools can raise serious privacy and transparency concerns,” said Nick Hudson with the ACLU of Texas.

“We don’t want the government to be able to have information that allows it to piece together where people go to church, who they’re seeing and what neighborhoods they’re hanging out in,” Hudson said.

Schultz said the cameras take a shot of a vehicle’s rear license plate, nothing else. He said the picture file is stored in the cloud for 30 days, then it's deleted.

Agencies choose which criminal-offense categories trigger a hit.

In addition to stolen vehicles and missing persons, the Memorial Villages Police Department is alerted each time a registered sex offender drives past their cameras.

“For the month of December, I had five sex offenders come through the Villages,” Schultz said.

Because the chief said there are no registered sex offenders living in the villages – he took a closer look.

“I was getting hits, but only on Sundays,” he said. “It was someone coming here to go to church.”

The chief said he doesn’t have a problem with that, but he said if there’s ever an issue at a school or a daycare, the plate numbers collected by the cameras could be useful.

Other neighborhoods using this technology include West University and Bellaire.

Bellaire’s police chief said it made 452 arrests last year because of the technology.

Both cities are buying more ALPRs.

NH State Rep. David Love is letting out some of that rank "Derry Air"

New Hampshire State Rep. David Love is getting no love (except from this awards blog, of course) for falsely claiming a drag queen was groping kids at a local library and implies that drag queen was on the public registry. 

https://www.concordmonitor.com/Community-members-call-out-Derry-state-rep-s--false--testimony-against-drag-queens-45130357

DERRY, NH – A state rep may have made false, defamatory claims about two drag queens on the public record when he spoke in support of his bill ostensibly designed to protect children at libraries from sexual predators.

During a Feb. 10 hearing for a bill that would require public libraries to do a background check on any employees or volunteers before the House Labor, Industrial and Rehabilitative Services Committee, Rep. David Love (R-Derry) claimed the impetus for this bill was inappropriate behavior by drag queens who performed in front of children in Nashua and Derry in recent years.

Love told the committee during public testimony that this bill, of which he is the prime sponsor, was inspired by alleged misbehavior at a Drag Story Hour event at the Tupelo Music Hall last June. Michael McMahon, 22, of Danville performed as drag queen persona Clara Divine.

“After looking into it, I discovered that there was no background check done on this individual,” Love said.

Love, who did not attend the event, told committee members that the children there were at risk.

“This individual was dancing with kids, rubbing butts, just really going way too far, and there was never a background check done on him,” Love said.

“None of that was happening,” McMahon told Manchester Ink Link. “I had over 500 people in attendance and they can all vouch that none of those things happened. … Literally, he’s making up something. It doesn’t make any sense.”

Some who attended the event say Love’s characterization of the event is untrue. Derry Town Councilor Jim Morgan, who is a Republican and a gay man, wrote a letter to the committee to call Love’s claims false, saying at no point had McMahon touched a child.

“I find it distasteful that an elected member of the House would blatantly lie to the committee to provide a sense of reason to pass such a flawed bill,” Morgan wrote.

Love is a candidate in the Republican Primary to fill Morgan’s seat on the Town Council. Morgan has decided not to run for reelection.

Derry Town Councilor Joshua Bourdon said he and his wife and children attended the event and said no rubbing of butts or inappropriate behavior took place. He said it was a positive event that celebrated individuality and differences.

“I was disappointed to hear that Rep. Love lied to his peers,” Bourdon said. “Nothing like that was there.”

Tupelo owner Scott Hayward said Clara was on a stage three and a half feet high and never got off the stage and was about 20 feet from the children during the entire performance. After the event, a few kids came up and took pictures with Clara.

“That statement is about as false as it can possibly get,” Hayward said of Love’s description.

He said Clara taught kids about inclusion, respecting yourself and others, love and “everything I raise my kids to believe in.”

Hayward said Love’s comments make it sound like children are in jeopardy when they’re not.

“Maybe David should go to some of these shows, and learn something about love and inclusion,” Hayward said.

During the hearing, Love went on to say that he learned that there was a similar Drag Story Hour in the Nashua Public Library in 2019 and that it was later alleged that “the guy was a convicted sex offender.”

“It’s completely false, obviously,” said Robert Champion, who performs regularly as drag queen Monique Toosoon, and hosted the Drag Story Hour in Nashua Love alluded to.

Champion, 39, of Bow, said he was never accused or convicted of such a crime. Nor is he listed on any sex offender registry.

“I’ve been in the public eye for probably 20 years for being a drag queen, and I have never ever been accused of being a sex offender,” Champion said.

As it happens, Champion had been undergoing extensive background checks at the time of his 2019 Nashua show in order to adopt a son. He passed those checks and he and his partner of 15 years now parent a six-year-old boy.

“Obviously, I’m not a registered sex offender, I wouldn’t have been able to complete the adoption,” Champion said.

Morgan called the allegations slanderous.

“Mr. Love is not immune from civil lawsuit as he publicly demeaned and defamed both performers and by doing so is slander per se,” Morgan said in his letter.

Champion and McMahon both told Manchester Ink Link they are currently seeking legal counsel about the potentially defamatory claims.

“I care a lot about my drag and I like performing for the youth and I like performing for pretty much anyone. I don’t like things like that getting thrown around, messing with what I want to make into a career,” McMahon said.

Reached by phone Tuesday, Love told a reporter he was “told by a couple constituents” about the claim that McMahon was “rubbing butts” with children. When asked for clarity on what exactly that would entail, Love said he wasn’t sure.

As for the claim against Champion, Love said he “hope(s) to god he isn’t a sex offender,” but said he remembers reading about it in a newspaper over two years ago.

“I don’t know if it was a Boston Herald or the Union Leader or what,” Love said. “I’ve done more research on that and haven’t found it.”

Ultimately, Love said he still believes Drag Story Hours are not appropriate for children.

“All things aside, it’s adult entertainment. … I don’t know why we’re going to this extreme, societally-wise. But to me it’s not right,” Love said. “If you want to do it as adult entertainment, have at it. But for kids, leave it alone.”

Champion said there is a difference between adult drag shows and Drag Story Hour events geared toward younger audiences. While adult shows might push the envelope, with “crude” jokes and sexual innuendos, Champion said they censor themselves and tone down their performances when they have children in the audience of their shows.

“I certainly know how to tone it down for an audience of children, or in my case teenagers,” Champion said.

He compares drag queens to clowns and considers himself a sort of standup comedian. He said he tailors his material to his market.

“Honestly, as a parent, I don’t think background checks are a bad thing, but do we need it for a one time event that is completely supervised?” Champion said.

In fact, he said if there was any danger to the children during his 2019 show, he said it would have been more likely from the “haters” who were sending threatening messages to him. He said he was assigned a security detail who chaperoned him the whole time he was on the library premises.

“I volunteered my time to do that. I did that to be an inspiration or a role model for people who may have needed me at the time,” Champion said. “None of the drag queens I work with are bad people, I just don’t seem to get why people think drag queens are criminals or something.”

Hayward said it disgusts him when people try to equate crossdressing with sexual abuse.

“It’s just ridiculous to equate those two things. It’s insane,” Hayward said.

Morgan said Love appears to be motivated by prejudice.

“Perhaps Representative Love would be better served by resigning his office to focus on his past personal issues before trying to make laws that govern people he doesn’t seem to accept,” Morgan told Manchester Ink Link. “As it stands, he’s trafficking in prejudiced myths that all the LGBTQ community members are predators.”

During his testimony, Love shared his personal experiences as a victim of sexual abuse when he was six years old, the trauma from which he said resulted in years of destructive behaviors and substance misuse.

“It was a long time of suffering. A lifetime of suffering,” Long said.

“I’m sorry that he went through the experience that he went through,” Champion offered.

The Derry show was attended by dozens of families in the parking lot of the Tupelo Music Hall. Congressman Chris Pappas attended the start of the event to welcome Clara Divine to the stage, and local news media recorded the event.

“New Hampshire is a welcoming place where everyone should be proud to be themselves. The event in Derry was a family-friendly story hour that brought the community together, and it’s shameful that it’s being used as the reason to introduce this legislation that seeks to stigmatize the LGBTQ+ community,” Pappas said in a statement.

The event was moved to the Tupelo after original plans to hold it at Derry’s Taylor Library were canceled in response to calls for protest.

During Love’s testimony, he appeared to take partial credit for pressuring the library to cancel the event.

“And we did stop it at the Taylor Library in Derry,” Love said. “They decided to not have it. Then they were going to do it in the public park and there was an outrage over that. Then they did it at a private entity.”

In the race for Morgan’s Town Council seat, Love is running against Doug Flood, the founder of Pizzastock, an annual mental health awareness concert in Derry in memory of his son Jason Flood, who died by suicide in 2016.

These articles are being shared by partners in The Granite State News Collaborative. For more information visit collaborativenh.org.

Roxanne Hammond of the Pennington Co (SD) Persecutor's Office makes blatantly false claim before the SD state legislature

If you willfully misrepresent a fact to a legislature, is that not fraud? If so, then why is this isiot prosecutor not being arrested for FRAUD? Especially given she apparently can't even handle her job for long? Lying can be stressful too, Roxanne. 

As an aside, we've never feautured anyone from South Dakota before. 

https://listen.sdpb.org/crime-courts/2022-02-03/bill-disallows-misdemeanor-for-registered-sex-offenders

Roxanne Hammond is a Pennington County prosecutor. She testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier in the session to explain the reasoning behind Senate Bill 77.

“And what we know of sex offenders, what we know of sex crimes, is they are one of the most difficult individuals to rehabilitate,” Hammond said. “And so that’s largely why we have the sex offender registry, to keep tabs essentially on people that are more likely to re-offend.”

Missouri HB 1603 wants some Registered Persons to leave their Driver's Licence with the police while they move to a new community then come back to retrieve it

So, you want to move to a new location, and you are a Missouri registrants convicted of a certain registerable offense? Well, if this idiotic law passes, you'll have to find someone else to drive you around since Missouri wants you to give them your Driver's License first, which they'll hold as collateral until you finish moving. 

Well, if don't have friends with Driver's Licenses and you can't afford professional movers, what do you do? 

It seems to me those Missouri "My Governor is an Idiot" masks need to add a remark their legislators are, too.

https://house.mo.gov/billtracking/bills221/sumpdf/HB1603I.pdf

HB 1603 -- ELECTRONIC MONITORING OF SEXUAL OFFENDERS

SPONSOR: Pietzman

This bill repeals language allowing the Parole Board, in appropriate cases determined by a risk assessment, to terminate the supervision of an offender who is being supervised under Section 217.735, RSMo, when the offender is 65 years of age or older.

The bill also specifies that any convicted sexual offender required to register on the Sex Offender Registry who changes his or her residence to a different county or city not within a county and who was convicted of child molestation in the first degree shall be required to deposit his or her driver's license with the chief law enforcement official with whom the person last registered. The license will be returned if the person registers with law enforcement within 3 days. If the person fails to register within three business days with the chief law enforcement official having jurisdiction over the new residence or address, the person will be guilty of the offense of failure to register and a warrant for the person's arrest will be issued, the person's driver's license will be suspended, and the person will be required to be electronically monitored for two years regardless of whether the person is sentenced to a term of imprisonment. The person will be responsible for all costs associated with electronic monitoring.

This bill is similar to HB 142 (2021).

The full text of the bill is at https://house.mo.gov/billtracking/bills221/hlrbillspdf/3715H.01I.pdf

Russian Parlimentary speaker Vyacheslav Volodin wants to send persons convicted of sex offenses to the arctic. America will likely take notes

Putin is slowly bringing back the old Soviet regime, and Vyacheslav Volodin, one of his lock-step bootlickers, is a part of it. But the USA is also slowly turning away from freedom. Here it seems Russia is pulling the US playbook by exploiting Predator Panic. Of course, if Russia does this today, you can bet America isn't too far behind since Putin has a lot of influence over the American Republican party thanks to tRUMP and Moscow Mitch.

https://www.yourtango.com/news/new-russian-law-could-send-repeat-child-sex-offenders-arctic-for-life

Russia will begin to change child sex laws later this month by sending repeat child sex offenders to penal colonies in the Artic — for life.

Parliamentary speaker, Vyacheslav Volodin, said, “Those convicted for such crimes should serve life sentences in the harshest conditions — in the extreme north (of Russia) or in mines. These b******s should undergo the hardest labor, so they remember the crimes they committed every day — and regret them.”

Volodin also continued by saying these offenders cannot be called human.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10375133/Repeat-child-rapists-sent-penal-colonies-ARCTIC-life-proposals-Russia.html

Parliamentary speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, a close ally of Vladimir Putin, said the 'terrible tragedy' of Veronika's abuse and death showed the urgency of toughening laws.

'One of the detained men turned out to be a formerly convicted paedophile,' he said.

'Let's do everything for the law on life sentences for paedophiles to be adopted in January.'

He backed calls for even tougher measures by sending all paedophiles to polar regions to serve their sentence.

'Those convicted for such crimes should serve life sentences in the harshest conditions - in the extreme north (of Russia) or in mines.

'These b******s should undergo the hardest labour, so they remember the crimes they committed every day - and regret them.'

They 'cannot be called human', he said.

Bigoted FloriDUH State Rep. Randy Fine is the first Shiitake Awards nominee for 2022

In case you're trying to figure out which grinning idiot is Randy Fine, it is the dumbass on the right.

I guess I can't expect anything less from a person who calls himself a "conservative Republican" with ethical concerns on race relations, especially one who broke the very cyberbullying law he helped pass. Even his fellow Jewish community is not safe from this man's inane rants. 

Randy Fine? More like Randy SWINE. 

https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/2022/01/03/homeless-registrants-space-coast-struggle-find-resources-and-shelter/6492934001/

Fine said he imagines sex offenders run into the most issues with housing in terms of renting from private property owners.

“I own an apartment complex, and I do a background check, and I do a criminal check, and I go, ‘this isn’t the sort of person I want to live here,’” he said. “(I) guess it’s a good reason not to be a sex offender.”

The Colorado Springs Gazette Editorial Board gives Registered Citizens a middle finger for Christmas

I managed to bypass the Gazette's shitty paywall to bring you the absolutely worst and dumbest OpEd I've read this year. 

One commenter wrote, "Say it out loud: "stupid, unethical editors". Not "adults who failed journalism and run divisive media outlets". Same thing in the case of the Gazette, but might as well stick with brevity." 

To that, I say the terms Yellow Journalism ("journalism that is based upon sensationalism and crude exaggeration") or better yet, "brown journalism ("journalism so biased, fallacious. filthy and full of shit that it makes mainstream journalism appear accurate and objective by comparison"), best describe whoever wrote this tripe for the DUHzette. 

https://gazette.com/premium/editorial-say-it-out-loud-sex-offender/article_48e07fce-6454-11ec-86ca-57d4b17574f6.html

EDITORIAL: Say it out loud in Colorado — sex offender

The Gazette editorial board Dec 24, 2021 Updated Dec 24, 2021

(Note, here are the five fucktards on the editorial board: Ryan McKibben, Chairman; Christian Anschutz, Vice Chairman; Chris Reen, Publisher; Wayne Laugesen, Editorial Page Editor, Pula Davis, Newsroom Operations Director)

Kudos to Gov. Jared Polis for nixing the Colorado Sex Offender Management Board’s vote last month to substitute silly, “person first” wokeism for sound policy.

Readers might recall that the obscure board, which writes the rules for rehabilitating and monitoring convicted sex offenders, made news a few weeks ago with its 10-6 vote to bar — ironically — the term “sex offender” from board use.

Board members decided instead to call sex offenders, “adults who commit sexual offenses.” Precious, right? To say nothing of absurd, pointless and insulting to the many Coloradans who have been victims of sexual assault.

Last week, the board voted again — to reverse its decision and table the new policy — after a timely trip to the woodshed. The governor appears to have felt putting the person first when it comes to convicted sex offenders could be interpreted as putting the victims last.

“We must be wary not to normalize violent acts of sexual aggression or even give the appearance of normalizing such unacceptable behavior,” Polis wrote to board Director Kimberly Kline the day before the vote.

“I hope that the board will reevaluate its previous decision to allow for additional discussions with the wider community, including carefully examining potential trauma to victims. …”

Which, of course, is diplomatic gubernatorial parlance for, “Are you guys nuts?”

Just plain bad policy aside, the board’s vote also was tone deaf amid public alarm over Colorado’s skyrocketing crime rate. Violent crime in our state soared 35% from 2011 to last year — it rose only 3% nationwide — and among the grim stats was a 9% jump in rape.

It can’t have escaped Polis’ attention that his fellow Colorado Democrats have been dogged lately by a soft-on-crime reputation. So the timing of the board’s ill-advised decision last month couldn’t be worse.

Actually, it could be worse — and in fact is. As reported in The Gazette on Thursday, courtesy of Denver’s 9News, a man who had been sentenced to 23 years in prison in 2014 for sexual assaults — and served only a fraction of that time — has been accused of sexually assaulting a 7-year-old girl in Aurora this month. Just 18 months after his prison release.

Kenneth Dean Lee was arrested Dec. 10 and faces charges of sexual assault on a child and first-degree burglary. Aurora police officers were told a man, later identified as Lee, entered a residence around noon, identified himself as an immigration official, and assaulted the victim.

A quick search for “sex offender” in The Gazette’s archives turns up a trove of tragic and unnerving headlines just from recent months. Here’s a sampling:

“Sex offender gets 48 years for kidnapping, sexually assaulting Douglas County woman”

“Repeat child sex offender sentenced to 126 years in prison”

“Aurora man who sexually assaulted a teenage boy is sentenced to a minimum of 22 years in prison”

They don’t need to be coddled with kinder, gentler labels. They urgently need help — and they should be getting it behind bars, preferably while serving out their full sentences.

Meanwhile, the Colorado Sex Offender Management Board could use a little therapy, too. Members who voted for the change should be required to repeat the words, “sex offender” aloud 100 times. Acknowledging who they truly are is the first step toward helping them.

Colorado Governor Jared Polis is trying to out-stupid Lauren Boebert

Is CO Gov. Jared Polis in a competition with Lauren Boebert for dumbest politician in Colorado? You'd think a gay person would understand the demeaning power of labels. But then you'd be wrong. I sent him a pretty scathing email to remind him of the power of negative labels. He needs to study up on gay history too, since it wasn't that long ago the "sex offender" label was used to target the gay community.  

https://www.denverpost.com/2021/12/20/sex-offender-label-colorado-jared-polis/

Colorado board reverses controversial change to “sex offender” label at urging of Gov. Jared Polis and his appointee

In November, the state Sex Offender Management Board voted to replace “sex offenders” with “adults who commit sexual offenses.” Then the board opened that decision up to public comment, and that’s where things went off track.

By ALEX BURNESS | aburness@denverpost.com | The Denver Post

PUBLISHED: December 20, 2021 at 1:31 p.m. | UPDATED: December 20, 2021 at 3:39 p.m.

Under pressure from the governor and the state’s public safety director, Colorado’s Sex Offender Management Board has reversed its controversial November decision to scrap the term “sex offenders” in its own guiding principles in favor of “adults who commit sexual offenses.”

The board, commonly referred to as the SOMB, voted 16-2 on Dec. 17 to “table” the language-change matter and refer it back to a subcommittee. It’s possible the board votes again to change terminology in the future, but the tabling means it’s not likely to happen anytime soon.

This decision followed a 10-6 vote by the board in November to stop using “sex offenders” in its own principles and policies. The board controls treatment standards for people convicted of sex offenses, and changing the language in this way would not have affected treatment or management policies. But it was hailed by supporters as an important step away from labels and toward “person-first” language that research shows can improve rehabilitation prospects.

After the November vote, however, the board opened a public comment period. That’s where things went off track.

The language change had gotten coverage on talk radio, on Fox News and in The Daily Caller, in addition to various Colorado outlets. More than 400 people submitted comment on the matter, an overwhelming number for a state board that tends to generate little public attention.

Public defenders and people who’ve committed sexual offenses, plus their family members and advocates, were supportive of the change. But comments from victim advocates and members of the general public were by far in favor of no language change. Law enforcement leaders have also opposed the change from the start.

“The coddling from some of the offender-affiliated representatives was repugnant,” tweeted Colorado sex assault survivor and motivational speaker Kimberly Corban, two days after the vote on a language change. “This shift is offensive for those of us who have experienced victimization at the hands of sex offenders who don’t like their ‘label.'”

On Dec. 16, the day before the board’s reversal vote, Democratic Gov. Jared Polis sent a letter to Kimberly Kline, the chair of the SOMB.

“We must be wary not to normalize violent acts of sexual aggression or even give the appearance of normalizing such unacceptable behavior,” he wrote. “I hope that the Board will re-evaluate its previous decision to allow for additional discussions with the wider community including carefully examining potential trauma to victims and ensuring that a clear message continues to be sent to the general public than non-consentual (sic) sexual aggression is not acceptable or tolerated in Colorado.”

Polis also expressed concern that the SOMB, a 25-member board when fully seated, had only 16 of its members present for the November vote. Polis appointee Stan Hilkey, director of the Colorado Department of Public Safety, said the same in his own letter to Kline.

“The oddity of this policy change occurring without a true board majority subjects the SOMB and CDPS to public scrutiny,” Hilkey wrote.

Hilkey suggested that, as director of the department that oversees the SOMB, he would likely reject the new language as a policy change.

“I … wish to avoid a scenario where the Board and the Department are not in alignment on the issue, which would place community trust, credibility and relevance of both entities at peril of reputational harm that could jeopardize our collective success,” he wrote. “While unintended, I am concerned that this is on a path to cause more harm than was trying to be fixed within the narrow intent of the trauma-informed language in the first place.”

Polis and Hilkey got their way, to the frustration of reform-minded advocates.

“The research is overwhelming that how we label people impacts their ability to build healthy, prosocial identities and lifestyles that are incompatible with sexual offending,” Laurie Rose Kepros, director of sexual litigation for the Office of the State Public Defender, told The Denver Post. “The SOMB Standards provide the regulations that govern the professionals charged with supporting these positive changes, so the language should support that mission.  Do we want these clients to reoffend or not?”

This was Kline’s argument all along — that the language change was not, in fact, anti-victim, but rather pro-rehabilitation and public safety.

“If we’re talking about how someone speaks about themself, … that can increase risk,” Kline, arguing against labeling people, said ahead of the November vote. “Ultimately it is victim-centered if we’re reducing risk.”

Illinois State Rep. Kelly Cassidy uses bounties on "sexual abusers" as prop for abortion law protest

There are over 200 murdered registrants, and thousands more have been harassed. It seems Ill-noise state rep Kelly Cassidy loves murder, be it registered persons or the unborn. Hyperbole or not, calling for bounties on those accused of sexual offenses is appalling and I think her term in office should be the only thing aborted. 

https://www.nprillinois.org/statehouse/2021-09-14/democrat-sponsored-texas-act-would-allow-10k-bounties-on-sexual-abusers-those-who-cause-unwanted-pregnancies

Democrat-Sponsored ‘TEXAS Act’ Would Allow $10K Bounties On Sexual Abusers, Those Who Cause Unwanted Pregnancies

NPR Illinois | 91.9 UIS | By Hannah Meisel

Published September 14, 2021 at 3:57 PM CDT

Two weeks after Texas effectively banned abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, a Democratic state lawmaker in Illinois is proposing a law based on Texas’ model — but turned on its head.

State Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago), who in 2019 sponsored law defining abortion as a fundamental right in Illinois, is introducing a bill dubbed "The EXpanding Abortion Services Act,” the acronym of which spells TEXAS.

The Texas law is uniquely designed, allowing private citizens the right to bring a civil lawsuit against anyone who performs an abortion, gets an abortion or aids in someone getting an abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. Opponents of the law have described the minimum $10,000 in damages up for grabs as a “bounty.”

Cassidy’s proposal instead would instead give Illinoisans the right to seek at least $10,000 in damages against anyone who causes an unwanted pregnancy — even if it resulted from consensual sex — or anyone who commits sexual assault or abuse, including domestic violence.

“If folks are policing the bodies of people who are seeking reproductive healthcare in Texas, well, then maybe we should be policing the bodies of the people who are causing those problems here in Illinois,” Cassidy told NPR Illinois.

Under Cassidy’s bill, half of the damages awarded would go toward a new “State Abortion Freedom Access Fund,” to be managed by the state’s Department of Healthcare and Family Services. The money would also be required to be halved even if a case is settled. The fund would be used as financial aid for people from states with limited abortion access to travel to Illinois for the procedure.

While Cassidy acknowledged the bill’s name and modeling after the Texas law includes some element of trolling, she said she’s serious about getting co-sponsors and a hearing on the legislation.

“There’s certainly an element of ‘hold my beer’ to this, obviously,” Cassidy said. “But the truth here is if this is our new normal, if this is the way that conservatives are going to police women’s bodies, and we as a state have — with a great deal of intentionality — have established ourselves as a safe haven, we also…have to figure out a way to manage that.”

House Speaker Chris Welch (D-Hillside) spokeswoman Jaclyn Driscoll said it’s up to Cassidy to request a hearing on the bill, but “the Speaker certainly wouldn’t stand in the way of one.” Welch has also pushed for reproductive rights in his time in office.

At an event in Aurora Tuesday morning, Planned Parenthood of Illinois President and CEO Jennifer Welch (no relation to Speaker Welch) appeared with Gov. JB Pritzker and three Democratic members of Congress to promote legislation seeking to enshrine abortion rights in federal law. Welch said Planned Parenthood facilities in Illinois have already seen an uptick in people traveling across state lines to get abortions in Illinois.

“It only took two days after [the Texas law] was enacted for us to see Texas patients here in Illinois, despite those long distances they had to travel,” Welch said. “We expect those numbers to significantly increase when these dangerous laws continue.”

Cassidy said she’s heard the same anecdotally from abortion providers, and recalled doubt from colleagues and others when she sponsored the Reproductive Health Act in 2019, saying she was told it was hyperbolic to predict the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade would be overturned. That decision upheld a woman's right to privacy in decisions about abortion, effectively allowing the practice nationwide.

Because private citizens act as the enforcement mechanism in the Texas law — and not any one state official — a majority on U.S. Supreme Court late last month declined to block the law from going into effect, reasoning it escapes federal judicial review.

The U.S. Supreme Court is readying to hear a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade in a case stemming from Mississippi’s ban on abortions after 15 weeks.

At Tuesday morning’s event in Aurora, Pritzker described conservatives’ wins restricting abortion in Republican-run states as a “dystopian future”

“…As radical Republican legislators across the country seek to functionally eradicate their constituents’ autonomy with no intervention from the nation’s highest court to be found,” the governor said.

A 2017 law signed by then-Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner also aimed to shield Illinois from any future Supreme Court overturning of Roe v. Wade by removing decades-old language from state law that stipulated Roe v. Wade's overturn would trigger the end of abortion protections in Illinois too. That law also legalized the use of state funds for abortions, including for Medicaid recipients.

Ralph Rivera of Illinois Right to Life Action didn't find Cassidy's bill very funny, though he did say he would be on board for legalizing bounties for rapists. Otherwise, he speculated some of the broader strokes in the bill might be found unconstitutional.

"We’re talking about human life," Rivera said. "It’s not silly. Taking a serious matter and trying to be flippant...she could’ve just stated that and not filed a bill."

Klas-less: Miami Herald's Mary Ellen Klas casts Anti-Registry activist Derek Logue in a False Light Statement

Senator Book is pretty good at lying about being stalked so is this even true, or is this another of her long list of lies to help detract from her ineptitude as the state's democratic senate leader? But whatever the case, adding Derek Logue's name in a blatant false light statement in an unrelated case is still a civilly liable action. I guess the Miasma Herald isn't what it used to be. 

In Logue v. Book, 297 So. 3d 605 (Fla. Ct. App. 2020), the Court didn't just overturn the protection order because Mr. Logue was merely exercising the 1st Amendment right to protest a corrupt lobbyist and his corrupt daughter/priofessional victim/crooked politician, they found that there WERE NO ACTIONS that could have possibly lead to stalking under the Florida statute. In other words, the court determine there was NO STALKING involved. Book is a liar, and apparently Mary Ellen No-Klas seems to care about the truth. 

https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2021/12/02/plantation-man-arrested-on-charges-of-extorting-harassing-state-sen-lauren-book/

Plantation man arrested on charges of extorting, harassing state Sen. Lauren Book

The lawmaker, known as an advocate for abuse victims, alerted state law enforcement officials in November.

By Mary Ellen Klas

Published Dec. 2, Updated Dec. 3

"Florida police have arrested 19-year-old **** of Plantation on cyber stalking and extortion charges after he allegedly faked sexually explicit photos of state Sen. Lauren Book and threatened to distribute them to news media outlets...

A record search showed ****, who lives in Book’s district and is a registered Democrat, does not have a criminal record....

This is not the first time Book has faced harassment and cyber stalking.

Book, who suffered sexual abuse by a nanny when she was a child, leads the advocacy group Lauren’s Kids.

In 2018, she obtained an injunction against Derek Logue, an outspoken critic of sex-offender laws, whom she accused of cyber stalking and harassment. A Broward County circuit judge issued an injunction that included a series of requirements designed to prevent Logue from having contact with the lawmaker or threatening her.

But Logue appealed to the Fourth District Court of Appeal, which ruled in a 2-1 decision in 2019 that the injunction violated his First Amendment rights. A footnote in the majority opinion said an Alabama court in 2001 convicted Logue of improper relations with a minor."

No Pride: Old Dominion University pressures transgendered professor to resign for simply doing research on Minor Attracted Persons

Silencing unpopular research is nothing new. See the Rind study from the 1990s or California's suppression of research proving low reoffense rates among so-called "high risk" offenders. So, simply research those who choose not to sexually offender and refer to themselves as Minor Attracted Persons (MAPs) is offensive? So instead of getting info from the the proverbial horse's mouth, we continue to rely on horses' asses like Lauren Book or Laura Ahearn to feed us myths and other nonsense as they have done for years. We truly live in a society where facts do not matter, instead relying on what simply makes us "feel" safe. 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/11/24/allyn-walker-odu-professor-resigns/

ODU professor steps down after firestorm over research into ‘minor-attracted people’

Allyn Walker, an assistant professor of sociology, was previously placed on administrative leave.

By Nicole Asbury

November 24, 2021 at 7:28 p.m. EST

Old Dominion University professor Allyn Walker, whose research into adults who are sexually attracted to minors drew protests and threats, has agreed to step down, Walker and the school announced in a joint statement Wednesday.

Walker, an assistant professor of sociology and criminal justice, had been placed on administrative leave Nov. 16. They now will remain on leave until the expiration of their current contract in May.

Walker’s research into “minor-attracted people” and their use of that term had been met with an outcry from students and others online, who claimed that such language destigmatized sex offenders. Walker has maintained that their work was intended to better understand would-be sex offenders and prevent child sexual abuse.

“That research was mischaracterized by some in the media and online, partly on the basis of my trans identity,” Walker said in the statement Wednesday. “As a result, multiple threats were made against me and the campus community generally.”

ODU professor placed on leave amid uproar over research into ‘minor-attracted persons’

Walker’s book “A Long, Dark Shadow: Minor-Attracted People and Their Pursuit of Dignity,” published in June, challenges “widespread assumptions that persons who are preferentially attracted to minors — often referred to as 'pedophiles’ — are necessarily also predators and sex offenders,” according to the University of California Press.

ODU students said they learned about the book earlier this month, and Kayla Foster, a senior studying criminal justice, thereafter started an online petition that called for Walker’s removal. Foster told The Post that Walker’s book gave pedophiles “a pat on the back” for not acting on their attractions.

As of Wednesday, when Walker stepped down, her petition had amassed more than 14,000 signatures.

ODU President Brian O. Hemphill said Walker’s resignation would be “the best way to move forward.”

“The safety and security of individual Monarchs and our collective campus are of the utmost importance,” Hemphill said in the statement. “For ODU, these will always remain top priorities as we pursue our mission in a caring, inclusive, and supportive community, one that respects academic freedom and remains willing to discuss controversial ideas in an atmosphere free of intimidation or violence.”

Other researchers, however, defended Walker’s scholarship and had called on ODU’s administration to do more to support them.

A letter addressed to Hemphill and other administrators Monday, signed by more than 60 professors in sexual abuse prevention, mental health, human sexuality and criminology, said the public backlash “reflects a misunderstanding and mischaracterization of Walker’s research.”

“We are strongly committed to creating a world without child sexual abuse,” they wrote. “In order to accomplish this daunting goal both ethically and effectively, it is essential to have a complete understanding of the issue, and this requires dissemination of research findings even when they contradict popular assumptions.”

Michael Cusano of Glenville NY forces Registrant from home and wants people to pressure lawmakers to reinstate residency restriction laws

I'd rather live next to a Registered Person than next to this scumbag or any other vigilante filth. Cusano thinks it is not right and curses the fact that harassing registered persons is illegal. Why am I not surprised that his bosom buddy, Bryan Gonski, supports Kyle Rittenhouse, the wannabe vigilante now in trial for murder? Perhaps someday, we'll see one of these fucktards behind bars for something similar. 

https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/When-sex-offender-moved-in-neighbors-petitioned-16589893.php

When sex offender moved in, neighbors petitioned to force him out

Police say parolee in Glenville neighborhood is following rules, but neighbors worry

Nov. 10, 2021

Updated: Nov. 10, 2021 10:39 a.m.

GLENVILLE — Danielle Marocco readily admits feeling a huge sense of relief when she noticed the "For Sale" sign on the lawn of a new neighbor.

That’s because she and others along a quiet suburban street in East Glenville fear the resident, a paroled Level 3 sex offender who victimized a boy, might hurt other young children. 

“We just love the area, we love the neighborhood — in the summertime the ice cream truck goes by,” said Marocco, who has lived on the street with her husband and their children since February. “This isn’t our dream house, but it’s our dream neighborhood.”

In 2006, the man at the center of the furor was charged in Warren County by State Police with one count of first-degree criminal sexual contact with a 12-year-old boy he knew, according to the state Division of Criminal Justice Services and the state Department of Corrections and Community Services.

The agencies' online information indicates he pleaded guilty to the offense in May 2007 and was sentenced to 14 years in prison with five years of post-release supervision. He was released to parole supervision in June 2019 and for a time lived in Schenectady before purchasing the split ranch home in Glenville, according to online sources and county real estate records. 

The 1,534-square-foot residence is now on the market with a list price of $265,000.

Thousands of people have been convicted of sex crimes in New York; those convicted of the most serious crimes appear on the public portion of the state's Sex Offender Registry, which makes it easy for residents to look up the identities of offenders living in their neighborhoods.

Frequently, the arrival of a sex offender causes disquiet among neighbors. 

In the Glenville case, another neighbor, Mike Cusano, launched an online petition on change.org titled #NotInMyNeighborhood that as of Tuesday had 572 supporters. An updated message in bold letters by the author declared victory after the man put the home up for sale. 

The petition wants him out, saying his presence has cast a pall over a neighborhood where ordinarily "the air is filled with children's laughter and kids playing outside."

The man did not respond to several attempts to contact him over the past week, including visits to his home, and phone numbers listed for him in public records have been disconnected. A parole officer listed for him online did not return a call last week seeking comment.

Daniel Lambright, a senior staff attorney with the New York Civil Liberties Union, said sexual abuse is most often carried out by someone known to the victim or the victim's family.  

"There's no empirical evidence that residency restrictions work in protecting children or protecting families," he said, "and restrictions are primarily based on a false premise that there's that stranger lurking in the bushes that is going to come out and attack their child."   

New York law forbids high-risk offenders under state or county supervision from “knowingly entering” school grounds and child care facilities, language that courts have interpreted to also mean that those offenders cannot live within 1,000 feet of a school. Multiple counties are also extending the 1,000-foot rule to cover day care facilities, preschools and other child care centers.

Resident Amelia Mindel, who also has children, rejected the notion that neighbors were trying to force the man out. Mindel was part of an Oct. 27 community meeting set up by Supervisor Chris Koetzle to discuss the issue, a meeting that included state Sen. Jim Tedisco and Assemblywoman Mary Beth Walsh, along with Glenville Police Chief Stephen Janik.  

“I think what we’re doing at this point is really trying to raise awareness regarding the safety of having individuals like our neighbor residing in a community that is so child-centered and child-friendly,” Mindel said, adding there is a day care and group home 800 and 500 feet away, respectively, from where the man lives with a female relative. “We’re not trying to do a witch hunt or a target,” she said. "It’s more like, what are the actual laws?” 

New York law restricts  sex offenders  who are classed Level 3 — the highest risk to repeat offense — from being within 1,000 feet of a school in a parked vehicle or knowingly being on school grounds when on parole or probation. This designation means an offender must personally verify their address every 90 days with law enforcement where they live, and that agency may take a picture if their appearance has changed. 

School grounds are defined as any area contained within the real property boundary line of the school, and may include playgrounds. The rules to not apply to day care facilities. 

Tedisco is the co-sponsor of legislation that would extend that prohibition to other facilities that host children during the day, such as day care sites and preschools. “I think the parents and the families and the community — not only in Glenville, but across the state — really have the right to be upset,” he said. 

The bill passed the Senate when Tedisco and his fellow Republicans held the majority, but it has languished in the Assembly since 2018. Democrats control both chambers and the legislation has seen little movement. Tedisco is hopeful that will change now that the legislation appears to have bipartisan support. 

The senator argued the restrictions proposed covering day care and other child care facilities are common-sense in a state that has rules in place against speeding and drug use in school zones.

Koetzle said he would like to see the proposed legislation, which the Glenville Town Board unanimously voted last week to back,     expanded to include places like group bus stops where middle and high school students congregate. He’s also advocating for the state to formally notify a municipality and school district when a registered sex offender moves in.   

Lambright said it's a myth that high-risk offenders are more likely to commit the same crime again, and that the use of a Risk Assessment Instrument is "flawed" because it draws on "a lot of factors that have nothing to do with recidivism."

"Certainly, there's of course some recidivism concerned with everybody," he said. "But the overwhelming evidence suggests that people who commit sex offenses don't recidivate any higher than any other members of the community, and further by pushing them into homelessness and anti-social situations you might be actually increasing the chance of maybe not sexual recidivism but recidivism in other kind of criminal ways, so it's real dumb policy and not policy based in any sort of facts."  

Chief Janik said the man is following all conditions of his release. 

"I cannot treat him any differently than I would any other resident when he is not committing a crime,” he said. “He will receive the same treatment that any other taxpaying citizen receives in the town of Glenville.” 

In a statement, DOCCS told the Times Union the Glenville man is in full compliance with the conditions of his release and that the parole officer makes “several contacts” with him each month. Sex offenders are monitored with supervision techniques such as electronic bracelets and periodic lie-detector testing. 

Melanie Trimble, regional director of the NYCLU Capital Region, said the group tries to educate people whose fears around an offender moving in can be inflamed by misinformation.

"What we have found is that the sex offender registry really does not help in the rehabilitation process," Trimble said. "What it does is alienate individuals from society and only causes them to go underground and hide so we're very concerned that people can't resettle and rehabilitate themselves after serving their time for crimes, and that only causes more problems down the road.

"Anybody that's served their time ought to be able to re-assimilate back into society in a way that promotes positive change in their life and have them move on," she said.

Marocco is cautiously optimistic the house will soon be sold and life can return to some kind of normalcy. 

“We’re definitely encouraged, but I don’t also want to let our guard down," she said. "And so hopefully (the house sale) goes through, and hopefully he can move somewhere that is not in a neighborhood, not in such a kid-friendly family oriented neighborhood, and he has his space, and he can be at peace in his own space, and we can have our peace and happiness in the community back."  

Makenzie Wagoner of Loogootee, Indiana tries to shut down Registrant's business

I found Makenzie's FB page, and the first thing I see is a hashtag associated with QAnon, so this tells me all I need to know about this person's education level. She also posted bogus statistics as well as her blatant misuse of the registry to harass this business owner. She should be locked up, quite frankly. Maybe instead of harassing folks who served their time and who promotes crackpot conspiracy hashtags, she she spend more time hitting the books at USI. Maybe she should take criminal justice instead of Gender Studies courses. Or she can go to OnceFallen com and get a real education.

https://www.washtimesherald.com/news/community-raises-concerns-on-operator-of-new-business/article_de015f18-2c1b-11ec-be40-a7693c0cfb41.html

Community raises concerns on operator of new business

Tim Pinkham Times Herald Oct 13, 2021 

LOOGOOTEE – The fact that a convicted sex offender has opened a tattoo shop near a preschool brought out an overflow crowd of more than 30 to Tuesday’s Loogootee City Council meeting.

Makenzie Wagoner, 19, made an impassioned plea for city officials and the public at large to take action to protect young children. She does not want the business closed, but rather forced to relocate some place away from children.

Indiana law prohibits sex offenders of minors from living within 1,000 feet of any school property, public parks and certain program centers. However, individual counties may impose other restrictions around movement, employment and alcohol consumption.

Wagoner pointed out that Indiana, unlike Illinois and a few other states, does not restrict a business owned by a convicted sex offender from being located near a school. She would like to see Indiana’s law changed.

Mayor Noel Harty said he would try to arrange a meeting in Loogootee soon between Wagoner and two local state officials, State Sen. Eric Bassler of Washington and State Rep. Shane Lindauer of Jasper.

Wagoner provided documents to the Times Herald which showed that Charles A. Taylor had been registered as a sexually violent predator in Illinois on Jan. 20, 2010. He was convicted March 8, 2005, of predatory criminal sexual assault. He was sentenced to six years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Taylor now lives in Loogootee. A document provided by Wagoner states the Indiana equivalent for the Illinois charge is child molesting, a felony.

Wagoner works as the youth librarian at the Loogootee Public Library. She is currently a student at the University of Southern Indiana, pursuing a double-major in early childhood education and elementary education.

“I’m fighting for this, but I should not be fighting alone,” Wagoner said. “He is going to offend again, it is only a matter of time.”

Wagoner criticized Harty for attending a ribbon-cutting ceremony last month for Taylor’s shop. She also said neither the mayor nor police chief Jim Floyd had notified the owners of the preschool nor Loogootee school officials about Taylor.

Harty said he had not found out about Tayor’s legal status as a convicted sex offender until five days after the ribbon cutting.

Floyd did not comment during the meeting, but his department issued a press release. It stated: “It has come to our attention that there are concerns about a registered sex offender opening a business in Loogootee. We are aware of this happening and found no legal authority to prohibit it. We are aware of his registry status and there is no law prohibiting the operation of this business by this individual. We, as police officers, are obligated to operate within the bounds of the law as they are written.”

Later on, the press release stated: “Freedom of speech is a constitutional right. You have the right to choose who you do business with and to express your concerns; however, harassment, intimidation, threats, violence, vandalism, etc. are illegal and may result in criminal charges.”

The sex offender registry administrator is Cpl. Joshua Seymour of the Martin County Sheriff’s Department.

Wagoner gave the Times Herald a copy of comments to her allegedly made on Facebook by Taylor. He said the law allows him to work anywhere he wants, including next to a daycare. He accused her of trying to take away from his children, stepchildren and wife. Despite his conviction, he claims he has done nothing wrong.

After she spoke, Wagoner was loudly applauded by those attending the meeting.

Bernalillo Co. NM Sheriff Manny Gonzalez makes false claims against political opponent, including accusation on helping Registrants move close to schools

Allegations of being "soft on sex offenders" as a political attack is nothing new. It has become quite commonplace, in fact. However, when a law enforcement agent makes such a blatantly false claim, we should take pause. It makes me wonder what other false allegations this Sheriff has made during his tenure. 

https://nmindepth.com/2021/10/22/sheriff-goes-to-the-dark-side-lobbing-grim-attacks-with-no-evidence/

Back in 2017, I wrote “it doesn’t get much darker” than ominous television ads attacking mayoral candidate Tim Keller, who is now Albuquerque mayor. Well, it’s gotten darker, and again Keller is the target. 

Four years ago the television ads, followed by billboards, showed an image of Keller and quickly cut to a dark figure wearing a hoodie, a classic racist trope. “Sex offender” flashed in bold red letters on the screen before cutting to a backlit child riding a bike.

Essentially, the ad sought to tap unconscious racist fears and smear Keller as a sex offender at the same time. Media outlets, including New Mexico In Depth, found no basis in the charge. Keller was one of 16 state senators in 2011 who voted for a bill sponsored by then-Senator Cisco McSorley that would have prevented municipalities from dictating where sex offenders could live. The state’s Sex Offender Management Board supported the bill. 

But the facts didn’t matter to those who paid for the ads, a mega westside land developer and a southern New Mexico oil man. It was classic negative campaigning — just throw any sort of mud at a candidate because you don’t like their politics. 

And the facts don’t seem to matter to Bernalillo County Sheriff Manny Gonzales as he tries to unseat Keller as Albuquerque’s mayor this year. 

Gonzales dredged up the sex offender charge at a KOB mayoral debate Tuesday night, accusing Keller of sponsoring a bill in the past that would allow sex offenders to live close to schools and parks. 

One hopes Gonzales paid attention when that piece of negative campaigning got discredited in 2017 by the media, but if not, did his research before uttering those words Tuesday. 

But it got worse. Later in the debate Gonzales leveled shocking allegations of domestic violence against Keller without any evidence. 

Gonzales is a law enforcement professional who should know how important facts are when accusing someone of a crime. But maybe not. Then he accused the mayor of having an affair with a subordinate, again with no evidence. 

Four days later, there is still no evidence to support any of his claims. And in fact, KOAT said they looked into the rumor of domestic violence back in June, and found no evidence to support it. One would hope a Sheriff could do the same. 

Keller called the allegations disgusting, pathetic and defamatory. 

I’d add: cynical, calculating, and dishonest. And sad, frankly. Perhaps the worst is the allegation, with no evidence, of an affair. Keller’s family, including his children, must now grapple with it. 

I want to say all of this is a sign of desperation in the Gonzales campaign, the sort that usually leads to wild negativity, though any longtime New Mexico political observer knows it’s also a sign of Jay McCleskey, a GOP political consultant and media operative known for hard-hitting, negative advertising. Gonzales has so far paid McCleskey $189,000, mainly for advertising costs. 

But at the end of the day, as much as many like to throw stones at McCleskey or other political operatives, it’s Manny Gonzales who is responsible. Whether the unsupported attacks on Keller propel Gonzales to the mayor’s office remains to be seen. Regardless, what happened Tuesday is a particularly dark chapter in New Mexico elections that we can only hope won’t become the norm.

Orange County, FL, Sheriff's Deputy Keith Vidler actually held accountable for targeting Registered Person for 2 years

The only shocking thing here is a law enforcement agency actually held one of their own accountable for their abuse of authority. In FloriDUH, of all place. 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/orange-county-sergeant-accused-of-abuse-of-power-terminated/ar-AAPfzui

Orange County sergeant accused of abuse of power terminated

Shannon Butler, Sarah Wilson  10/7/2021

A sergeant with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office has been terminated after the sheriff’s office said he abused his power during a traffic stop.

A sergeant with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office has been terminated after the sheriff’s office said he abused his power during a traffic stop.© Provided by WFTV Orlando A sergeant with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office has been terminated after the sheriff’s office said he abused his power during a traffic stop.

Veteran officer Keith Vidler is accused of holding a grudge against a man he had been investigating for two years.

Vidler, a 30-year veteran law enforcement officer, pulled people to safety during the Pulse nightclub attack.

An internal investigation into a traffic stop found Vidler purposely targeted Jeremy Dewitte, a registered sex offender who has a history of arrests for impersonating a police officer.

Initially, Vidler said he was pulling the convicted felon over for carrying a firearm, but it turned out to be a pepper ball gun.

A sheriff’s office internal investigation found the pepper ball weapon was in plain view and not concealed, and that Dewitte should have been released, but instead he was taken to jail.

Channel 9 tried to talk to Vidler last month, but he said he couldn’t comment, and he said he still can’t today; but paperwork obtained by Channel 9 shows what Vidler told the board just a few days ago.

He said he had been investigating Dewitte since September 2019, but in late 2020, he was informed that the investigation into Dewitte would have to be “shut down.”

He said there was no contact with Dewitte until an arrest in March of 2021, which he says shows he wasn’t holding a grudge. He said he also didn’t know it was Dewitte at first.

Vidler said he called his supervisor about the arrest, who Vidler said told him “good job.”

He said he knew this would be the outcome because he said he was outspoken about the investigation into Dewitte and about other things at the department, but after days of taking the case into consideration the board fired him.

Channel 9 asked Sheriff John Mina to comment on the termination, but since Vidler has one more appeal to go through, he would not comment.

Vidler was also advised not to comment until the case is over.

Some in the community have launched a GoFundMe supporting Vidler and a corporal who was suspended in the same case, claiming the sheriff’s office targeted them.

Darius McGowan of Atlanta, GA starts online petition to place unconstitutional marks on Georgia State IDs

I think it is a bit of irony for a person of a race that claims to hate oppression based on a group status openly promoting an act of oppression based on group status. Guess he'll be promoting sundown towns next time he gets 15 minutes of fame. 

Of course, SCOTUS has refused to hear the appeal of the state of Louisiana, whose Supreme Court had just struck down such marks as unconstitutional. 

https://eminetra.com/her-death-would-not-be-in-vain-petition-could-create-new-sex-offender-id-policy-for-atl-nightlife-news-atlanta-georgia/768577/

‘Her death would not be in vain’: Petition could create new sex offender ID policy for ATL nightlife | News – Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta, Georgia 2021-10-01 07:30:00 –

Atlanta (CBS46) — New petitions can make it difficult for sex offenders to enter metro Atlanta bars and nightclubs.

The petition already has nearly 10,000 signatures and was initiated by a friend of a local bartender who was kidnapped and raped.

Chris Anthony said it seems less than two months after his friend Mariam, 27. Abdulab Taken from him, “Honestly, when you don’t have an answer, what you know is still fresh.”

Police believe DeMarcus Brinkley kidnapped Abdullah from his boyfriend’s front yard and shot her shortly thereafter.

Her murder caused anger all over the city, “We need a community leader to start talking about this, “a community member said in a city protest.

Now, a new petition launched by a friend of Mariam aims to limit access to women like Mariam by sex offenders like Brinkley.

“”This is great for simply checking someone’s ID and raising their head, “said her friend Chris Anthony.

More than 7,000 people have already signed a petition for a new law requiring sex offenders to put some marker on their Georgia ID.

“I think it’s a perfect idea,” said Chris Anthony.

Markers allow bars and clubs to closely monitor known predators.

And this isn’t the first time this has happened in Georgia.

In 2019, the most risky sex offenders in Georgia had to wear a GPS ankle monitor.

But last year, the law was considered unconstitutional by the Georgia Supreme Court.

Sex offender Tom Church said the petition might have a chance to fight.

“”The Georgian Parliament has just lost the requirement for ankle bracelets and may consider this a good compromise. So now they could think of this as something they could use instead, “said the Church of Lawyers.

Mariam’s friends, like Chris Anthony, now want state leaders to take a closer look at this.

“As her friends, we are really grateful that this happened. You know that she wasn’t just dead, but her death wasn’t a waste, but rather a call to awaken. I know.”

Craig Shubert, Mayor of Hudson, Ohio, doesn't understand the meaning of CP

He should be sitting in a corner, alright, but with a dunce cap on. 

I am just going to assume this is a right winger (looks him up online) Yup, called it. What a dipshit. 

https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/news/2021/09/19/writing-prompts-child-porn-illegal-expert-weighs/8362770002/

"During last week's school board meeting, Hudson Mayor Craig Shubert issued an ultimatum: "It has come to my attention that your educators are distributing essentially what is child pornography in the classroom. I've spoken to a judge this evening. She's already confirmed that. So I'm going to give you a simple choice: You either choose to resign from this board of education or you will be charged."

Among the prompts in question: "Write a sex scene you wouldn't show your mom."

The book has been removed from the course by district officials.

The Summit County prosecutor said last week the sexual writing prompts aren't child porn, but the prosecutor's office is continuing to look into whether any other laws were broken."

"These allegations have resulted in threats being made against board members, faculty and administrators in Hudson," Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh said Friday in a news release. "Those threats must stop. Under Ohio law, a prompt about a fictional writing is not child pornography. We will review this matter and determine if there is a factual basis that any laws were broken either by the writing prompts or the threats that have been made.” ...

Law professor: Writing prompts don't meet legal definition of child porn

A law school professor said he also believes the writing prompts did not constitute child pornography under the legal definition of the offense.

Michael Gentithes, associate professor at the University of Akron School of Law, said there are First Amendment rights that conflict with efforts to restrain publication of pornographic or obscene material.

However, he said, "even though the court looks at laws that restrict pornography with strict scrutiny, child pornography restrictions are often upheld on the grounds that the state has a really strong interest in protecting the children depicted from physical abuse."

After some of the writing prompts were shared with him, Gentithes said the material "doesn't depict any children whatsoever being abused."

He said it would "be difficult for written responses to a prompt like that to constitute child pornography because there's no images or video of someone engaged in a sexual act with a child."

Gentithes observed that "maybe you could — and this is a real stretch — suggest that other children viewing whatever was written in response to that [prompt] would have such a strong psychological or emotional reaction that it would fit the definition, but that's very unlikely."

While noting he could not say definitively whether written material could be considered child pornography, Gentithes said "almost all" criminal prosecutions of child pornography involve either photographic or video images of children engaged in sexual activity.

"The reason is you're worried about the damage [and the] abuse to the children that are depicted and the possible damage if other children see those images," he said.

Obscenity difficult to prove

He also said he strongly doubted the writing prompts would be considered obscene.

In Miller v. California in 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that for material to be considered obscene, it must meet all three prongs of the following criteria: predominately appeal to prurient interests; depict sexual conduct in a patently offensive way; and lack any serious literary or artistic value.

"It's a very difficult test to meet," Gentithes said.

Right Wing nutjob (or spambot) Gary Ruot claims we should not carry vaccine cards because Registered Persons don't need ID cards due to privacy rights

 I'm only nominally sure this is a real live human being and not some Russian spambot, but whatever the case, claiming Registered Persons don't carry special ID cards due to "privacy issues" because you're butthurt over vaccine cards is shiitake-worthy. And you're not just physically blind-- you're also  mentally blind, "Gary." Stop licking the horse paste, dude. 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2021/09/17/fact-check-sex-offenders-some-states-must-have-special-ids/8334296002/

Fact check: Some states require special IDs for sex offenders

Daniel Funke

USA TODAY

The claim: Sex offenders don't have to carry cards because it 'violates their privacy'

President Joe Biden announced COVID-19 vaccine requirements Sept. 9 for federal workers and companies with more than 100 employees. That means millions of Americans may soon have to prove they've received the shot.

A widespread claim on social media attempts to make a point by comparing that potential requirement to those for sex offenders.

"There are 800,000 registered sex offenders in the U.S. and they don't carry a card because it 'violates their privacy,'" reads text in a Sept. 13 Instagram post. "Keep that in mind."

The post, published by an account called 1776 PRIDE, accumulated 5,400 likes within one day. Similar posts have racked up tens of thousands of interactions on Facebook and Instagram, according to CrowdTangle, a social media insights tool.

"What's that about vaccine passports again?" reads text in a Sept. 10 Facebook post.

Those claims distort the facts on sex offenders, who are subject to a wide array of limitations. Sex offenders are indeed required to carry special identification in some states, and in the states where such laws have been overturned, it's been due to free speech concerns, not privacy. 

"There are some states that have those laws, and some of those laws have been struck down for violating people's free speech rights," Tamara Rice Lave, a law professor at the University of Miami, told USA TODAY.

USA TODAY reached out to 1776 PRIDE for comment.

Some states mandate special IDs for sex offenders

Federal law requires sex offenders to be listed in a national registry. Some states also require registered sex offenders to get special driver's licenses or IDs that identify them as such.

"The claim refers to 'registered sex offenders,'" Michael O'Hear, a law professor at Marquette University, said in an email. "If registered, a sex offender’s personal identifying information is normally made available online to the general public."

That personal information includes a sex offender's address, their physical characteristics, what car they drive and the nature of their crime. Offenders are "required to update their registration in each jurisdiction they reside, are employed, or attend school," according to the Justice Department.

In addition to federal registration and notification requirements, some states also mandate a special designation on sex offenders' IDs. Kansas, for example, requires convicted sex offenders to get an ID that says "registered offender."

At least eight other states have similar laws on the books.

Oklahoma and Mississippi both require variations of the term "sex offender" on IDs, while Delaware simply puts a "Y" on them. Meanwhile, Florida requires those convicted of certain felony sex crimes to have "sexual predator" spelled out on their IDs. Others must have an ID that includes “943.0435, F.S.” – the state statute dealing with sex offender registration.

"So if you hand your driver's license or state ID over to a police officer, they would be able to tell immediately whether you're a registered sex offender," Charles Ewing, a law professor at the University of Buffalo, told USA TODAY.

Some state laws face First Amendment challenges

Courts have challenged some state laws requiring registered sex offenders to have special IDs. Those rulings have hinged on First Amendment issues.

"There is only limited case law on the issue, which has been framed not as 'privacy' but as an instance of the government compelling speech by a citizen," Wayne Logan, a law professor at Florida State University, said in an email.

In 2019, a federal judge in Alabama invalidated a law requiring those convicted of certain sex crimes to carry licenses emblazoned with "criminal sex offender" in red, bold letters. The state argued the law protected the public, but U.S. District Judge Keith Watkins wrote in his opinion that the law "unnecessarily compels speech" and was not "the least restrictive means of advancing a compelling state interest."

"The court held that a less intrusive method could be used to achieve the governmental goal of informing police of a registrant status," Logan said. "It could, for instance, as (Delaware) does, use a single letter – 'Y' – that police would recognize as denoting status. So, the court did not condemn the policy of identification in principle."

In October, the Louisiana Supreme Court issued a similar ruling, striking down a law that mandated IDs with "sex offender" printed in orange, capital letters. Similar to the Alabama case, the court wrote in its opinion that the requirement was "compelled speech" that violated the First Amendment.

"While the state certainly has a compelling interest in protecting the public and enabling law enforcement to identify a person as a sex offender, Louisiana has not adopted the least restrictive means of doing so," Associate Justice James Genovese wrote for the majority.

Louisiana officials have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear that case. Other judges around the country have rejected challenges to similar restrictions, such as notations on passports and putting signs in front of the homes of registered sex offenders on Halloween.

Still, experts told USA TODAY it's misleading to say those kinds of ID requirements have been challenged for violating privacy. Lave said registered sex offenders don't usually make that argument, and much of their personal information is already publicly available.

"Basically, registered sex offenders have no privacy," Ewing said.

Our rating: False

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that sex offenders don't have to carry cards because it "violates their privacy." Some states do require those convicted of certain sex crimes to carry special driver's licenses or state-issued IDs. Courts have challenged a couple of those laws, but the rulings were based on First Amendment violations – not privacy concerns. Sex offenders surrender their privacy on a wide range of fronts as their names, pictures, address are other information are posted on public registries