RSOL of Virginia Reform Sex Offender Laws Seeking Justice and Safety for all Virginians
The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the
silence over that by the good people -Martin Luther King Jr.
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This Page was last updated Sunday, July 18, 2010
Posting #218 – HR1623, now HR5138 International Megan’s Law Will Be Voted on by Congress Soon!
By: RSOL of Virginia Date: 04/30/2010
Virginia Supporters,
It has been brought to our attention that Congressman Chris Smith of NJ who has sponsored a bill titled the International Megan's Law will be proceeding for a vote in the next few weeks.
This bill was originally introduced by New Jersey Congressman Christopher Smith in 2008 as HR5722 for the 2008/2009 Congress and then on March 19, 2009 it was resubmitted as HR1623 for the 2009/2010 Congress so it was a REAL surprise to find that it was resubmitted again as HR5138 on April 27, 2010 and then approved by the House Foreign Affairs Committee the VERY next day.
When the RSOL of Virginia and a few supporters met with the Lead Counsel of the U.S. Judiciary Committee in Washington DC for the second time back on December 10, 2009 she said Congressman Smith's bill that had been carried over from 2008 into 2009 and that sat stagnant would probably advance in 2010 before the elections in November, so here we are.
This bill, HR5138 will make ANY travel outside the US boarder a serious hassle if not totally impossible.
Please write or call every co-sponsor of HR1623 & HR5138, to every member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and to EVERY representative from Virginia. IMMEDIATELY!
Ask them NOT to support this bill as it rolls anyone who carries the label sex offender into the mix with child traffickers.
The RSOL of Virginia clearly and defiantly opposes child trafficking. The Legislative assumption that anyone placed on the registries is likely to commit such a heinous crime is simply outrageous. Imposing this law onto U.S citizens who carry the label of sex offender is simply wrong and they know it.
Sponsor of HR1623 & HR5138
Christopher Smith (NJ)
2373 Rayburn H.O.B.
Washington, D.C. 20515
202-225-3765
Co-Sponsors of HR1623
Gus Bilirakis (FL) John Boozman (AK) Glenn Nye (VA)
1124 Longworth HOB 1519 Longworth HOB 116 Cannon HOB
Washington, DC 20515 Washington, DC 20515 Washington D.C. 20515
202-225-5755 202-225-4301 202-225-4215
Shelley Berkley (NV) Bob Inglis (SC) Kay Granger (TX)
405 Cannon HOB 100 Cannon HOB 320 Cannon HOB
Washington, DC 20515 Washington, DC 20515 Washington, DC 20515
202-225-5965 202-225-6030 202-225-5071
Frank Wolf (VA) Robert Alderholt (AL) Leonard Lance (NJ)
241 Cannon HOB 1433 Longworth HOB 114 Cannon HOB
Washington DC 20515 Washington, D.C. 20515 Washington, D.C. 20515
202 225-5136 202-225-4876 202-225-5361
Joseph Pitts (PA) Jean Schmidt (OH) Frederick Upton (MI)
420 Cannon HOB 418 Cannon HOB 2183 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515 Washington, D.C. 20515 Washington, D.C. 20515
202-225-2411 202-225-3164 202-225-3761
Co-Sponsors of HR1623 & HR5138
Brian Bilbray (CA) Ander Crenshaw (FL) Dan Burton (IN)
2348 Rayburn HOB 440 Cannon HOB 2308 Rayburn HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515 Washington, DC 20515 Washington, DC 20515
202-225-0508 202-225-2501 202-225-2276
Bill Pascrell (NJ) Pete King (NY) Daniel Lungren (CA)
2464 Rayburn HOB 339 Cannon HOB 2262 Rayburn HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515 Washington, D.C. 20515 Washington DC 20515
202-225-5751 202-225-7896 202-225-5716
Ted Poe (TX) Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL) Joe Wilson (SC)
430 Cannon HOB 2470 Rayburn HOB 212 Cannon HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515 Washington, DC 20515 Washington, DC 20515
202-225-6565 202-225-3931 202-225-2452
Lincoln Davis (TN) Dale Kildee (MI) Jeff Foretenberry (NE)
410 Cannon HOB 2107 Rayburn HOB 1535 Longworth HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515 Washington, DC 20515 Washington, D.C. 20515
202-225-6831 202-225-3611 202-225-4806
Donald Manzullo (IL) Donald Payne (NJ)
2228 Rayburn HOB 2310 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515 Washington, DC 20515
202-225-5676 202-225-3436
Members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee that voted on April 28 to proceed with HR5138 Christopher Smith (NJ) The Sponsor Dan Burton (IN) Also a Co-Sponsor Joe Wilson(SC) Also a Co-Sponsor John Boozman (AR) Also a Co-Sponsor Jeff Fortenberry (NE) Also a Co-Sponsor Ted Poe (TX) Also a Co-Sponsor Bob Inglis (SC) Also a Co-Sponsor Gus Bilirakis (FL) Also a Co-Sponsor Donald Manzullo (IL) Also a Co-Sponsor
Elton Gallegy (CA) Dana Rohrabacher (CA) Edward Royce (CA)
2309 Rayburn HOB 2300 Rayburn HOB 2185 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515 Washington, D.C. 20515 Washington, DC 20515
202-225-5811 202-225-2415 202-225-4111
Ron Paul (TX) Jeff Flake (AZ) Mike Pence (IN)
203 Cannon HOB 240 Cannon HOB 1431 Longworth HOB
Washington, DC 20515 Washington, D.C. 20515 Washington, DC 20515
202-225-2831 202-225-2635 202-225-3021
J. Gresham Barrett (SC) Connie Mack (FL) Michael McCaul (TX)
439 Cannon HOB 115 Cannon HOB 131 Cannon HOB
Washington, DC 20515 Washington, D.C. 20515 Washington, DC 20515
202-225-5301 202-225-2536 202-225-2401
Virginia Representatives
Robert (Bobby) C. ScottRick Boucher Robert J. Whittman
1201 Longworth HOB 2187 Rayburn HOB 1123 Longworth HOB
Washington DC 20515 Washington DC 20515 Washington DC 20515
(202) 225-8351 (202) 225-3861 (202) 225-4261
Bob Goodlatte Tom Perriello James (Jim) Moran
2240 Rayburn HOB 1520 Longworth HOB 2239 Rayburn HOB
Washington DC 20515 Washington D.C. 20515 Washington D.C. 20515
(202) 225-5431 (202) 225-4711 (202) 225-4376
Eric CantorGerry ConnollyJ. Randy Forbes
329 Cannon HOB 327 Cannon HOB 2438 Rayburn HOB
Washington DC 20515 Washington, D.C. 20515 Washington DC 20515
(202) 225-2815 (202) 225-1492 (202) 225-6365
Senator Mark WarnerSenator Jim Webb
SR-459A Russell SOB 144 Russell SOB
Washington, D.C. 20510 Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-2023 (202) 224-4024
We know it takes time to print, address and stamp all those envelopes in addition to the cost, but if we really want to stop this bill everyone should do it.
If you don't take the initiative to write or call those who will be voting on this bill, then you really can't complain if it passes and is enacted.
1st Response to Posting #218 From: Erin Date: 04/29/2010
Dear Members of the U.S. Judiciary Committee,
It has been brought to my attention that HR5138 is being considered for law. I would like to express my opposition and thoughts concerning this bill as follows:
1) This will affect every single person that appears on the sex offender registry.
2) This will imply that every registered offender is considered capable of being a child trafficker, yet there are people on the registry who had victimless crimes, never imposed any harm to an individual, nor were they a threat to anyone.
3) Unless the registry can be reformed to a tier system where this is applied to only the most violent and despicable predators, you are imposing a severe punishment on a non-violent offender and the innocent members of their families which is not only unacceptable, but outright wrong.
4) We have 700,000 registered sex offenders in this country and climbing. It is absurd to believe that this measure needs to be applied to every single one of them. Any law as severe as this should be applied on an assessment basis.
I implore each and every one of you to examine the studies provided by the Dept. of Justice and The Human Rights Watch. Dr. Richard Wright, professor at the University of Massachusetts wrote a very informative and profound book titled "Sex Offender Laws: Failed Policies, New Direction".
Please, as our country's lawmakers, use an educated and thoughtful approach and consider all the facts that have been provided, as well as the affect the outcome will have on every citizen that is suppose to be protected by the U.S. Constitution, before any more harsh laws are passed.
Respectfully,
Erin
2nd Response to Posting #218 From: Mark Date: 04/30/2010
Dear Members of Congress:
For the last decade the increasingly irrational crusade for harsher sex offender laws has taken on a tenor not unlike that if the Salem Witch Hunts. It is time to stop placating John Walsh, Oprah Winfrey and the general lies of the news media. It is time to take a proactive, innovative, outside-the-box thinking approach to this social phenomenon and not mob mentality. A real solution to the problem will recognize that the statistical facts put sex offender recidivism at very low rates…that very few are the monsters they are presented to be and that study after study has shown that Megan’s Law and those spawned from it are not only ineffective but frequently counter-productive to the stated goal.
More importantly it is time to recognize that the Constitution and the protections it affords are for all American’s and not just for those whose actions we like. If it is not then it is of no value to any of us because when we devalue it for any American or group of American’s then it is devalued for all of us.
As in the past I continue to urge you to vote against HR 5138 and all bills like it. You are protecting no one by continuing to support such blatantly un-American legislation. If you truly want to protect families and children in this country as you have said in previous communications you are, then you need to seriously rethink such policies and with the help of those most able to help you do so, the sex offender community themselves, you need to reformulate current legislation into truly meaningful policy--supporting all of your constituents in a way that is bold and intelligent, base on actual facts and not fables, of monsters who come out at night and prey upon our children.
Please. Be wise. Be bold and be right.
Most Sincerely,
Mark
3rd Response to Posting #218 From: Dae Date: 05/03/2010
Dear Representative Chris Smith,
I am aware that the International Megan’s Law, H.R. 5138 is being brought to Congress to vote on. I have to say to please rethink this action and realize how many people this will affect.
I am the wife of a sex offender. Let me repeat, a sex offender, not a sex predator seeking child molestation, or a rapist, or a pervert waiting to victimize his next person.
My husband was 18 when he had consensual sex with a 17 year old. It was consensual, but the laws say a 17 year old is not of age consent. It makes no sense to me how a teenager between the ages of 13-17 can have the consent to get birth control of some sort so they can have "protected sex" but they can't choose to have sex with an eigthTEEN year old or even a nineTEEN year old.
If they choose to have sex with someone who is 18 or 19, then the person they had sex with gets convicted as a sex offender. There are laws that teens have to abide by, like not smoking before 18 or drinking before 21 and if caught they get a ticket. Well shouldn't that apply to them as well if they choose to have sex with someone over the age of consent?
The age of consent for sex is giving teens a mixed message. You can get birth control to have safe sex, but can't have it with someone who is over 18? In my opinion eighTEEN and nineTEEN year olds are still considered TEENS that is the reason TEEN is behind it, right? What sense does that make to charge them for having sex with another TEEN?
Now my husband of 14 years has to register for life and abide by restriction laws which gives us as a family no room to live where we want to live or choose where he wants to work for promotions. My three kids get discriminated because their dad is a sex offender and people judge him as a child molester because of how media portrays ALL sex offenders.
Don't get me wrong I want to know where all dangerous sex offenders are for the sake of our kids, but I am in no way trying to protect them from their own father. He has no desire to molest a child or rape anyone and he does not belong on the list along with the true dangerous sex predators. These Megan laws are ruining our family and it will do the same to the many who are a non-threat to society internationally.
Please rethink your decision and revise the Megan laws so that it will do only what it was intended to do in the first place and that is keep our kids safe from child molesters, rapist, and perverts, not to those who committed a one time consensual teen age sex offense, or a one time urination on public grounds, or sexting, or a one time offense of flashing breast or bottoms at a college party.
There are way too many people who committed such stupid crimes one time in their life and they are on a list that ruins their life forever and the families who love them.
If you are going to push the law internationally, please clean it up first in the USA.
Dae
4th Response to Posting #218 From: Mike Date: 04/29/2010
Dear US Judiciary Committee Members,
I ask that you do not support this bill if it comes before your Judiciary Committees, or if it ever makes the floor for a vote. It is an extremely anti human rights bill, and has no place in our democracy.
I am a registered non-violent sex offender from a crime that I committed over 12 years ago. I am, and always will be ashamed of what I did. However, I am just trying to be the best person I can be from that point forward. I have no other crime in my background except this one. I self reported my crime, turned myself in, served my time, and completed my probation. I only have to register for 15 years. So, I have a few to go yet. This bill would lump me, and hundreds of thousands of other sex offenders in with child traffickers. For me personally, I have family in Canada, and have enough hassle crossing the border already to see them. With this law, it is possible I may never to see my family there again.
This makes no sense. It demonstrates exactly what is wrong with most of our sex offender laws. Everybody is lumped in together. It makes enforcement almost impossible. The laws should focus on the violent predators who have repeat offenses, and are considered more likely to re-offend. Child traffickers are the worst of all breeds. If you want to write a law stopping them from leaving or entering our borders, I fully support it. But, don't include everyone who has ever committed a sex offense. Why would any congressman even support such a broad brush of a bill towards everyone?
We are spending millions of tax dollars policing more offenders than our law enforcement can handle. It is time for lawmakers to start passing common sense legislation, and not laws that garner political support from voter fear and hysteria. If you truly want society protected, then it would be a better approach to focus on the very small percentage of serious threats rather than the Salem witch hunt current practice of going after everyone. Soon, we will have over a million people on the sex offender registry.
Those who end up on the registry have innocent families, and people that depend on them. When the offender can't find a job, or a place to live, it affects so much more than just the offender.
Do you really think this is helping protect our society?
Most sex offenses, like the one I committed, occur from a family member, or a close family acquaintance. There are a small percentage of strangers who are predators, and need to be monitored more thoroughly. Why are we lumping all sex offenders in the same vein of the laws? We do not do this for any other crime, not even murder. Why are we violating our federal and state constitutions, and passing laws retroactively on sex offenders that have already served their time ?
I would ask you to not support this bill on humane grounds, as well as fiscally sound grounds.
Thanks for your time and consideration of my thoughts.