State wants special car plates for sex offenders
 

(gg)


CINCINNATI (Reuters) - Lawmakers in Ohio said on
Wednesday they want to force convicted sex offenders
to use a fluorescent-green license plate on their cars
so they can be easily identified.

A Republican and a Democrat in the state legislature
in Columbus have joined forces to propose the law,
which echoes measures in several U.S. states that
require convicted drunken drivers to use a yellow,
pink or red plate on their cars.

"The fluorescent-green license plate will make the
most egregious sex offenders easily identifiable,"
state Democratic Rep. Michael DeBose said in a
statement.

Police said the green plates would allow them to track
sex offenders, who are already required to register
with the local sheriff's office and are prohibited
from living within 1,000 feet of a school.

"It will give Ohio families a great peace of mind
knowing that their children will be able to recognize
where this danger exists," Summit County Sheriff Drew
Alexander said.

Alexander joined the politicians at a news conference
in Columbus, the state capital, to praise the proposed
law.

Opponents of the proposed law argue the use of a
special plate would stigmatize everyone who shared the
offender's car -- including their spouse or children.

The proposed law will be debated in committee before a
decision is made whether to put the proposal to a vote.

I heard on the news a discussion of this law and while the person was definitely anti-child abuse ... his concern was it would lead to kids thinking that if the plate wasn't green, they didn't have to worry. A bad message.

And, it assumes the only driver of a car with those plates would be the offender. That means that anyone getting behind the wheel (including the offender) could become target (or any passengers they might be carrying) of someone wanting to do harm to all offenders. Might result in killings or attempted killings of possibly innocent people.

I think while the idea is good in it's intentions, maybe more thought needs to be given to the possible complications. Maybe something that'd be required WHEN the offender was using the car without other (adult) passengers on board. Don't know the answer and actuallly liked the idea before I heard some of the arguments against it. Now, I'm not quite as sure if this is the right answer.

Next they will want to have black peolpe have black plates and white people with white plates. Then they will want to put a sign donating your religion and then ... Well anyway that is how Nazi German got started. Discrimination is bad no matter who you are discriminating against.

I have to live in this fuckin' retarded state.

Way too many über-conservatives here.

I'd rather them drive POVs than to ride the city bus. I have no problem with repeat sex offenders or DUIs being identified.

I'm still in favor of making them wear sandwich boards depicting their offense.

I loved the one who had a prison tattoo on his forehead.

A lot more thought!

Please define sex offender?

I'm sorry to say I don't believe protecting our children is the only motivation here. :(

I'm having problems with the 'scarlet letter' method of law enforcement and one-stamp-fits-all governmental protection of our kids. If "The fluorescent-green license plate will make the most egregious sex offenders easily identifiable," why are they not incarcerated if they are so egregious?

There is a big difference in a child molester and sex offender in our politically correct and litigious society. I doubt the definition OF requested will be debated as being on the plates.
:sad:

Not sure about Ohio but here's how it works in my state.

http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/OGC/Leg...b9702_8-22.html

I think back to the case of a woman who took it into her mind that a man who walked past her home at least twice a day was stalking her.

She took out a restraining order and the man (who was totally innocent and had absolutely no idea this woman was freaking out about him) had to walk a different and longer way to and from the train station.

i'm having trouble with the whole scarlet letter vibe, too. it seems that there are stricter laws in some cases/places where conviction laws are less clear. i do see the logic and can sympathize with the law’s advocates - it’s proven that certain sexual predators have a high rate of recidivism - but i can’t justify making all offenders comply. there’s the reasons pointed out by DB and PF, plus the liberties it takes with some basic constitutional rights, but also because i think the stakes are escalating. i remember the thing about the bracelets, and i thought at the time that bracelets seemed benign enough, but now we’ve got license plates and i saw a news program highlighting a proposed plan to ban sex offenders from coming within 300 feet of schools, and playgounds, yes, but also bus stops and libraries and many other places kids congregate.

i don’t know how megan’s law has been interpreted by any states - i don’t even understand my own state’s laws - but i do know that there are sexual offenders in our community and the communities we visit alot, i know what they’ve been convicted of and where they live, that many of them live near schools, that i will do my best to help educate my kids - and any other kid who gives me the chance - about how not to be a victim, but i can’t stomach the government failing its duties by tagging a criminal so dangerous it needs to be tagged - essentially leaving up to me a job that our government has sworn to do. the answer isn’t bracelets or plates or house arrest, time needs to be spent crafting better laws and punishments.

Politicians ....

... or, are they just offensive? :shrug: