RSOL of Virginia
Reform Sex Offender Laws
Seeking Justice and Safety for all Virginians

 

 

 

 

 

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Posting #3 – Dignity & Respect

By:  My Husband
Date: 10/14/2008
   
Dear Virginia Lawmakers,

My wife has contacted you on repeated occasions to appeal to your sense of decency; sadly her efforts have failed with most of you ignoring her requests.

Until today you've not heard from me directly as I thought I understood what rights I still retained. I mistakenly thought I had the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness within in my grasp. I previously thought her efforts in writing you were a waste of time and energy. I felt we could return to a normal life but with the fact that the sentence imposed upon me is continually changing based on your new laws, I now know she is right and I was wrong for trying to suppress her.

Based on the 2008 General Assembly law that increased my time from 10 to 15 years minimum on the Virginia registry and then the fact that no one informed us of this retro-active punishment, my wife and I have accepted an offer to start and lead the Virginia Chapter of the RSOL. The National Reform Sex Offender Laws Organization is dedicated to changing the laws regarding Sex Offender Registries. I encourage each of you to visit their web-site (http://www.reformsexoffenderlaws.org/index.php) so that you can read just how damaging and cruel the laws that you and other states have supported are.

We fear that if something is not done to stop these ridiculous restrictions you will eventually force all registries out of work and onto the streets. One would think this would be the last thing lawmakers would desire, but your current trend makes any attempt to continue a normal life completely impossible.

I am on the Sex Offender Registry, but I am not a sex offender. This simple fact of course is not relevant at this point.

Our plight is no doubt shared by thousands whom have done no wrong but yet have been convicted by unjust laws. Our hopes that you would evaluate the current laws and revise them to protect our rights not just as Americans but as human beings go unanswered.

The situation that you have imposed is that; under the guise of protecting our children, you are in fact repeatedly trying, convicting and re-sentencing citizens without even notifying them that this has occurred. I speak of the fact that during the 2008 session you passed laws that are retroactively affect everyone on the registry. As lawmakers you should be aware that this is in fact skirting the boundary of being unconstitutional. I was specifically told when I registered that as a "Non Violent Sex Offender" that there were no restrictions as far as my employment or going on public grounds. You see, as a non violent sex offender the courts have already evaluated the particulars of my case and find me not to be a threat to the public. As of the 2008 Assembly you virtually eliminated any differentiation between true threats and people just trying to get on with their lives.

My wife and I had always wanted to have children and sadly were not able to. I now thank God that we did not, with the changes you have made in Virginia, had I attended a public function that my child participated in  I would have been in violation of the law which is now listed as a Class 6 felony. This also skirts the constitution in that the punishment is worse than the maximum punishment for the original crime.

I plead with you to re-evaluate and truly consider the fact that what sometimes sounds like a good idea and good law can truly ruin not just the life of an individual but the lives of all whom they look to for love and support.

So in summary the next time you hear from my wife or me it will be as official representatives of the RSOL Virginia Chapter. Note that going forward any response or lack of response will be subject to public record.

We look forward to working towards an amicable solution in Virginia with all of you.

Mr._____________

 

1st Response to Posting #3

From:  Northern Virginia Delegate who has been in office since 2006
Date: 10/14/2008 9:57 PM

 

I share your concerns and worked to ameliorate some of the harsher and more unreasonable aspects of some of last year’s legislation. I will look at your web-site and follow this issue because I believe we have gone too far in some instances.

Best regards,

Delegate ___________

2nd Response to Posting #3

From:  The Aide of a Northern Virginia Senator who has been in office since 1996
Date: 10/15/2008 2:20 PM

 

I am the Aide to Senator_________ and I have read all of your wife's rather lengthy emails.  We didn't reply because there is nothing to say that will help. I don't know who your representatives are, but if you haven't heard from them, that should tell you something. Briefly - Virginia is a conservative state and people run for office and WIN because the message they have is to punish forever anyone who has broken the law, and in some cases, who hasn't.  You will not change what is happening until you change the people who are elected to represent you.  Generally speaking, the Republicans have been responsible for this attitude.  You could sit and listen in the Senate (or House) Courts of Justice Committee hearings when they take up the various criminal law proposals and you would get a sense of what the members of that Committee believe.  I suspect that neither of you was politically active before the arrest.  The people who are politically active are the ones that choose who runs for office and, ultimately, who wins.  I suspect you left that to other people.  The Democrats are slowly taking back government but the House is still controlled by the Republican party, which is very doctrinaire.  You are now doing what you can by working with this new organization - if you weren't interested in being active before, you are too late now since you would be coming to it as a one issue person and you would find that everyday politics is not what you enjoy.  A very long time ago I worked at State Department and Cubans were fleeing the Castro regime.  I worked in the visa waiver section - Cubans were coming without visas by the thousands so the government was waiving their need to have a visa to enter the US.  You know what just about everyone said in response to a question about what organizations they belonged to?  They said "I never was active in politics".
Well, if the honest people weren't active in politics, what did they expect to get for a government? 

Response to Posting #3

From:  My Husband
Date: 10/15/2008 3:16 PM

So let me sum this up.... As the aide to Senator __________ you are stating that her official view on what one should do when they find laws that are violating ones personal rights are being systematically stripped away, there is nothing that can be done. Her statement is essentially too bad you should have done something earlier? We are actually registered Democrats, but the statement you are making is quite appalling. Right and wrong are fundamental issues not partisan issues. Is this really what you wanted to say? I think you may want to personally ask her before you reply with another dismissive statement.

Response to Posting #3

From:  The Aide of a Northern Virginia Senator who has been in office since 1996
Date: 10/15/2008 4:49 PM

  
I gave you my name and title so it would be clear how I had seen your incoming and that the opinion was mine, not the Senators.  None of what I said are the Senator's opinions - that's why I didn't say the opinions are hers.  As to fundamental right and wrong - let me tell you a story.  The Senator sponsored a bill last year to mandate health benefits for prosthetic devices which are very, very expensive.  People involved in this thought we would be successful because we had right on our side.  People need prosthetic devices in order to live even though they cost tens of thousands of dollars depending on the complexity of the device. The people who talked to us about this had right on their side.  The bill was killed in committee.  The supporters of it were stunned.  They couldn't believe that even tho they had the right on their side, they lost. It was very sad.

Do I think right and wrong get lost at times?  Yes, I do.  Do partisan issues overtake right and wrong?  Yes, I think they do - obviously not every time but it does happen.  I said that I think you are doing the right thing now by becoming active in National Reform Sex Offender Laws.  Should you have done something earlier? That is for you to decide.  Sorry I was wrong in assuming you are politically active. However, rather than getting angry with me, you might think about why only one person has answered you except for the answers that send you to your elected officials.  By the way, reading your e-mail is difficult - even tho I set my printer on landscape, it still cuts off some letters and/or words on the right side.