Sex offender license plates

[blas87]

A coworker approached me last night and asked if I'd seen the special on the nightly news about the new idea of forcing registered sex offenders to have specific colored license plates to indicate that they are a sex offender. Not sure if it's just a small Wisconsin idea or a country-wide idea.

What are your thoughts on this?

[Myra]

BAD idea.

In my city, we have a website where they post the mugshot and current address of all registered sex offenders. This was a good idea in theory, but here's my beef...

Good friend of mine, her boyfriend and father of one of her kids, is a registered sex offender. But he's not the icky sort. When he was 19, he dated a 15-year-old. The 15-year-old's parents found out, and called the police. He and the girl weren't doing anything but teenaged heavy petting, but he was still convicted, and now has to register whenever he moves and cannot live close to schools.

And also, there is such a thing as rehabilitation. This would just open the door for rednecks to key cars and be rude to people with these license plates. Not every sex offender is a pedophile wanting to run after little kids or rape women. Some are working to better themselves. Why open the door for retaliation?

I am pregnant right now, and I believe that if you teach your child stranger safety and don't let the kid run off on their own, you're doing your best to keep them safe. Yelling at a guy with a different-colored license plate isn't going to save your child from the child molester next door who hasn't been caught yet.

Just my two cents.

[DesignFox]

I think it is horrible, too. Some of these people have been labelled sex offenders for the stupidest shit and now have to pay for it for the rest of their lives.

I agree with Myra that that is completely wrong.

[AFPheonix]

Besides, kids are more likely to be molested by someone they know than some "phantom molester" out there. Pay attention to what's going on in your own home, and you'll keep your kid safer.

[April]

I think the legal term "sex offender" is too broad for something like this. Things like statatory rape between teenagers (like between 17 and 15 or whatever) or I even heard a story once about a guy on a boat, he stood up and urinated off the side of the boat, the police were called and he now has to file as a sex offender for the rest of his life. It's so broad that you don't know if that guy with the sex offender plates is truely a rapist or someone who made a small, harmless bad decision.

[rahmota]

Well I can see several problems with this:

1 Didn't marking people for life go out with the spanish inquisition? Or at least the scarlet letter of the puritans? Like has already been pointed out these people are being officially and legally treated as pariahs in american society for situations that may or may not be worthy of such treatment. One mistake can lead to a lifetime of paying for it.

Which leads me to my seconds problem sint there something in some document somewhere (Oh say the COnstitution?) that says cruel and unusual punishment or excessive punishment is not a good thing or to be allowed? Permanently marking these people, forcing them to register and then publishing their name and address and picture thereby making them a potential target for overzealous vigilantes in mo opinion falls under the cruel, unusual or excessive violations.

Also from what I've read about this there is apparently no hope of ever getting the marking or stigma lifted. Once labelled an offender forever more are they marked. This does not go with the official policy of rehabilitation that our "justice" system is supposedly following. People make mistakes, they take their punishment which should be appropriate and effective and then after they learn their lesson they can become normal healthy members of society (whatever that means) once again.

And I'll agree the term "sex offender" is way way too broad a stroke to be painting people with. This ranges from the scummiest of the scummy pedophiles to the horny teenagers who cant wait for their 18th birthday and get caught by overzealous parents/people/prosecuters who want to send a message.

It is a big bad dangerous world out there. Many times its not if youre paranoid or not but if youre paranoid enough. But this sort of thing is just going down the wrong path. A distraction from the real need to pay attention to whats going on in your kids world, the people around you and be responsible for your life and the people in your life.

[squall]

It's bad enough they have to have their address displayed along with mugshot, and sometimes signs in front of their homes. I don't believe there is any reason to humiliate them further by doing this. They are already wide open for retaliation as is.

[blas87]

I agree with all of you. Most sex offenders are already on the internet (hell, there's a site where you can check and see if any live within x many miles around you) and documented. While I don't feel sympathy towards child molestors and rapists, I don't feel that making license plates for them is going to help the situation. I also don't feel that men/women convicted of statutory rape (aka, a 19 year old and a 16 year old) should be lumped in the same category as men/women who pervert children and rape people.....that's a different topic, though.

[Rapscallion]

Hmm, do you believe that everyone on the sex offender register should risk death? If so, then consider the case of an uptight wagon driver who sees a car with a sex offender plate in front of him, and he accidentally fails to stop at the next red light...

Very, very dangerous.

Rapscallion

[BusBus]

Hmm, do you believe that everyone on the sex offender register should risk death? If so, then consider the case of an uptight wagon driver who sees a car with a sex offender plate in front of him, and he accidentally fails to stop at the next red light...

Very, very dangerous.

Rapscallion

My thoughts exactly. Like there isn't enough problems with road rage right now....

[Rubystars]

I think that certain sex offenders should have it not on their car but branded with a hot iron across their foreheads. "Child rapist".

There is no such thing as rehabilitation for raping children. You can't change that sexual orientation any more than you can any other sexual orientation. People who act on those feelings should be locked up in prison for life, put to death, or failing either, should be clearly marked to everyone around.

If you rape a child I don't care what kind of retaliation comes down upon you. A keyed up car is the least of what you deserve.

[Myra]

Hey I agree not all can be rehabilitated. But some CAN, and marking EVERYONE is just unjust and stupid. Those who cannot, by the grace of our justice system, generally do NOT get out of prison. They sit rotting behind bars, getting what they deserve.

But the vast majority of sex offenders who are out, are not "child rapists." They are people like my friend's boyfriend - he dated someone underage, and her parents didn't approve so they called the cops - or something else like that. If they are truly rehabilitated, or if they really aren't a "child rapist" in the first place, then marking them is just asking for violence that they dont' deserve.

Not everyone on the sex offender's list is a huge monster. It's like someone else posted - most of the time, a child molestor victimizes children he/she knows. So branding a bunch of ex-cons trying to make a living really doesn't help when the monster you need to watch out for is your neighbor who has never been in jail and is therefore not on any registry. Be vigilant and rely on your gut when it comes to your kids. I'm a big believer in that.

[Rubystars]

Statutory rape and public exposure are not on the same level as raping a child or an adult. Rapists should not be allowed out of prison again though. I don't believe in rehabilitation at all for those who molest or rape children.

I think it's a sexual orientation just like being straight or gay and will not change and it's something psychology can't fix. It's classed as a psychological paraphilia, the same category homosexuality used to be classed in. The main difference being that homosexuality occurs between consenting adults and is the business of the adults involved while an affinity for children is not and can not be between consenting parties.

There have been too many cases where a sex offender has re-offended. Why do we keep letting people we KNOW are bad back out on the streets to hurt more people?

It makes me really upset every time I found out that a person who killed or raped or molested a child had a previous conviction in the same type of offense category.

I'm not saying to punish all sex offenders equally as if they were beyond any help, but some categories of crimes should be one strike, you're out, permanently.

[rahmota]

Hmm RUbystars I'll agree with you on somethigns.

1: that child rapists are the worst of the worst scum of the earth and deserve to get the death penalty. Regular rapists are a close second on that list. Public hanging is not a cruel or unusual way to die if done right.

2: That there are cases where a criminal has reoffended when returned to society supposedly rehabilitated. I say a criminal in general because it is not limited to just sex offenders in that regards. Thieves, murderers and such all have done so again. So sexual offenders are not any more or less likely to recommit (at least AFAIK) crimes than any other criminal.

3: No consensual sex between and adult and a minor (or statutory rape as you and others call it, I do dislike that term as it carries a heavier negative conotation of violence and force than the other) and public exposure are not on the same level as pedophillia. Not even close. So they should not be lumped under the same visual stigma/marking/yellow star as the other more heinous offenders. So either the state would have to come up with some complex code of marking the offenders or needs to just not bother. Why do we keep letting bad people out? Because society keeps making more people bad. Either by making more laws criminalizing things or by forcing people to operate outside the nominal laws to have freedom of choice and will.

And some thigns I disagree with:

1: Comparing pedophillia with homosexuality. That is comparing apples and goldfish. Not even in the same zipcode much less ball park from where I sit. This is not to say I understand or excuse pedophillia I'm just saying that I do not see pedophillia as an orientation. As a fetish which is a mental state (and a very sick one at that) but still not an orientation as I understand the usage of that word in regards to sexual matters. Where as homosexuality is a genetic based orientation just like heterosexuality. Those are orientations as I understand it.

2: Our legal system as screwed up as it may be is one based on humane rehabilitation and not one of vengeful punishment. Supposedly everyone has a chance and can be rehabilitated and those that are the most dangerous and violent or difficult to rehabilitate are seperated from the body social for the body's own good. At least thats the ideal. Unfortunately with so many morality laws already on the books, trivial thigns like having a bit of pot on them or other stuff criminalized there are more people being treated as criminals than there is capacity in the justice system. With society being less forgiving and wanting a tougher stance one strike and you're out attitude on criminals of all levels this is making it harder for judges and the justice system to deal with everything. This is not to say that pedophiles and such deserve less time or no punishment I'm just saying that painting everyone with the same brush can be a dangerous thing to do. Which means either we give up on the rehabilitation aspect of our justice system and agree that some crimes and criminals are just too severe to warrent rehabilitation and make damn sure that any and all chances to make a mistake in the process are weeded out or we muddle along and continue to deal with the system as flawed as it is. Which sometimes does make mistakes and let people out who should not be.

One reason why each and every person has to be responsible for their own lives and the people they are responsible for and to. To quote Mad Eye Moody from the Harry Potter series "Constant Vigilence" is the key to personal safety. Know yourself, the people your children come into contact with, the people in your neighborhood. And in regards to this know your kids. Their attitudes and behaviors when dealign with people.

Yeah it would be a lot easier if every person had to wear a sign detailing their personality quirks and behavioral motives like a bottle of pop has its ingredients listed but that is neither practical nor morally or ethically right from a personal freedom and liberties standpoint. It just means people will ahve to take personal responsibility and think for themselves.

[squall]

You might as well give a sex offender a Star of David or a scarlet letter if you brand their license plate. It is a radical, far left idea similar to Nazism. I think the sentence given to these people should depend on the circumstances of the crime. A public registry is a necessary evil because we all want to make our children safe in our neighborhoods. But if an abductor is seen fleeing with a child in a vehicle with a sex offender license plate, the fact that he is a sexual offender does little if you didn't read the license plate number. It is not a very useful tool. I think maybe the fact that they are sex offenders could be registered with the DMV, but not displayed anywhere on the vehicle. They will suffer ridicule, threats, possible dangers to their safety from people who don't know how to control their feelings. I don't think they all can be rehabilitated, but many are just trying to get on with their daily lives. USA in particular is becoming less free by the minute. It is practically illegal to hurt anybody's feelings these days.

[rdp78]

I think the license plate is going too far and that the label "sex offender" should be reserved for people who have commited the worst sex crimes(raping, child molesting). I mean its kind of sad we are treating people who done little meanless things like acidently exposing themselves or a couple of consenting adults who taped themselves doing it but now the tape is on the Internet shouldn't be treated as those who are truly sex offenders. I also don't think a young man who is 18 and got his still underage teenage girlfriend pregnant be treated as if he was a 28 year old creep who molested little girls.

[DisgruntledBadger]

The flip side of the statutory rape card is also not pretty. You folks have pointed out that a kid is most likely to get molested by someone they know, and I can attest to the truth of that. When I was 17, the creepy old man who'd lived across the street from my family for over a decade decided to play the "let's see if I can get into Badger's pants" game. Really not a fun experience, as I'm sure you can imagine. However, this is certainly not even in the same ballpark as a couple of consenting horny teenagers getting slapped with a statutory rape charge because one of them is 18 and the other one is 16 or something like that. If both of them fully consent, then it's none of our business. Period. End of story.

With that said, I think there should be a classification system for sex offenders somewhat similar to the system for classifying prescription medicines. For example, let's say that a child rapist would be considered a class 1 offender, a child molester a class 2, and so on and so forth. If a system like that were to be put into place, then the public notification aspect could be scaled more appropriately. I admit that this is something I haven't thought through all the way, so if anyone can point out holes in my logic, please do! :)

[rahmota]

Badger: Your idea does have some merit. A sliding scale with clearly defined levels is in theory a good idea and uses common sense, one of the reasons why it will probably never be used.

The problem I see is defineing which is a class 1 and which is a class 2 etc.... Personally child rape or molestation are on the same level of vileness to me. Actually harming a child in that way at all deserves a rope dance to me but hey.....

[KaeZoo]

What happens when well-meaning citizens see someone with special tags driving by a school? Parked at a family restaurant? Going to your church?

It seems like any politician who wants to drum up some cheap popularity can just propose another get-tough measure against sex offenders. After all, who's going to stick up for them? And what politician wants to be confronted by an election ad saying "XXXX voted AGAINST laws that would protect our children from sexual predators!"

The bottom line is, if you make it impossible for someone to live normally as a registered sex offender, you're going to see a much larger number of unregistered sex offenders. The end result is that we're less safe even as silly laws make us feel more safe.

If you're on a sex offender registry, then special license tags aren't even among the worst things that the law can do to you. Some of the nastiest laws have already passed: clicky linky... (http://www.cnn.com/2007/LAW/04/05/bridge.sex.offenders/index.html)

[Lace Neil Singer]

But if an abductor is seen fleeing with a child in a vehicle with a sex offender license plate, the fact that he is a sexual offender does little if you didn't read the license plate number. It is not a very useful tool.
Plus the small fact that children have been abducted by pedophiles and taken away on public transport. If the licence plate law becomes reality, the predators will just do that more often. They may be perverted, but they're not stupid. So the law would be pointless as well as risking death and injury to those who are labeled sex offenders but aren't dangerous.

Read the book Acid Row by Minette Walters for a very graphic depiction of what happens when a convicted pedophile is outed to the general public.

http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/printed-books/acid-row-minette-walters/443080/ Contains spoilers; only read if you have no intention of reading the book; tho, you really should. :)

[AFPheonix]

And what's to stop a child predator from first stealing a car (or at the very least, jacking someone else's plates), and then going trolling for kids?

So very much wrong with this law, it's not even funny.

[Boozy]

Another stupid law that will do nothing but give communities a false sense of security and provide easy targets for bloodthirsty vigilantes.

But hey, its an easy vote-getter, right? I mean, no one wants to be forced to actually think about their child's safety. Don't we all want to live in a world where "good" and "bad" are so clearly labelled that we no longer have to use our brains? And of course, we ALL have complete and utter trust in the justice system, right? If the Grand Unfailing Justice System says someone is bad, they're bad. Disagree with "lenient" penalties for child molesters? No problem! Bypass the court system entirely, and beat the shit out of one! Or kill him! That'll teach 'em. The system has now made it easy for you to ignore due process by labelling the people they'd like you to lynch.

There are SO many problems with this law. I am disgusted by politicians who propose things like this. They know its going to make them popular, but they don't give a damn about the consequences.

[rahmota]

Which is why people cant trust the "justice system" or the authorities to do their job for them and be personally responsible for thier own lives and the lives of their children. The best way to protect children against pedophiles is to be interested, and involved in their lives and the people in it.

[Lace Neil Singer]

As well as teaching them good old fashioned "stranger danger".

[AFPheonix]

Well...and wierd, skeevy uncle danger....

[Lace Neil Singer]

That too, as most of children are abused by a family member or friend of the family. Not forgetting "Nasty neighbour danger"!