The Jim Crows are Back

[evli1966 88]

The Stand I Take

In a time when many people, including government officials, are calling for more stringent sex offender laws, why would anyone stand up for these people? This is a question that you may be asking yourself… if you are not a sex offender or not related to one. Since the studies and mounting proof from experts in the field of sex offender management have been ignored, I will present my explanation in another way.

My answer will likely fall on deaf ears if you are a vigilante, xenophobic, or a victim for profit. However if you have an open mind let me tell you why I feel the way I do. If in defense of my stand I told you that tougher laws will only cause more victims, would you believe it?

A fact of the registry is that it is growing at an annual rate of about 8%. Another fact is that 94.7% of all registered sex offenders will not reoffend. So while you are trying to figure out who is a danger, the real bad guy is killing someone. This could be avoided to a great extent if those not likely to reoffend were removed from the public view so that you could find the truly dangerous offenders in your neighborhood.

As it stands now, most people do not trust the information of the registry since there is a dilution roughly 5% to 95% of those who pose a threat and those who do not. But the public is not trained to differentiate who is a danger and who is not. Another argument against the registry as a protection is that of stress. According to experts in the field, many of the laws related to the registry cause an inordinate amount of stress. If you ever watch TV shows like Criminal Minds, they often talk about what stressor it was that made the person snap. Yes, stressors are a real fact in many forms of criminal behavior. So when we think of laws such as residency restrictions, which place human beings out on the streets, as homeless vagabonds, this is a big stressor.

You may be interested to know that today’s residency restrictions have a distant cousin, Jim Crow Laws. In the sections in blue to follow I challenge you to replace the word Negro with sex offender and see how well it fits in today’s laws code. the only difference is that sex offenders are treated far worse since they do not get separate but equal protection under the law.

Jim Crow Laws - Housing

1. There shall be separate buildings, not nearer than one fourth mile to each other, one for white boys and one for Negro boys. White boys and Negro boys shall not, in any manner, be associated together or

worked together. Florida

2. The children of white and colored races committed to the houses of reform shall be kept entirely

separate from each other. Kentucky

3. Any person...who shall rent any part of any such building to a Negro person or a Negro family when

such building is already in whole or in part in occupancy by a white person or white family, or vice versa

when the building is in occupancy by a negro person or negro family, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor

and on conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not less than twenty-five ($25.00) nor more than

one hundred ($100.00) dollars or be imprisoned not less than 10, or more than 60 days, or both such fine

and imprisonment in the discretion of the court. Louisiana

Another stressor for former sex offenders is that of finding employment. Many of us know how great the stress of being unemployed can be. But think of this. If you had a family, a wife, kids, and a dog and you did find a place to hire you, but then they learn that their address must be listed on the public registry, how great a stressor would it be for you to lose the only chance you have to feed your family because of a law that protects no one? How much would this hurt your family?

Jim Crow Law - Labor

1. No colored barber shall serve as a barber [to] white women or girls. Georgia

2. All persons licensed to conduct a restaurant, shall serve either white people exclusively or colored people exclusively and shall not sell to the two races within the same room or serve the two races anywhere under the same license. Georgia

3. All persons licensed to conduct the business of selling beer or wine...shall serve either white people exclusively or colored people exclusively and shall not sell to the two races within the same room at any time. Georgia

Surely we would want former sex offenders to get an education so that they can become more productive, trustworthy citizens, right? In many states schools and libraries are off limits to sex offenders. Even if they are allowed on school property they must register and this registration becomes public. At that point, many times, vigilantes step in and harass the registered offender until they quit. In earlier times these vigilantes were known as the KKK. I have a question for you, would you have been one of the courageous to stand up for black people when standing up for black people was looked down upon or would you dawn the robe?

Jim Crow Law – Education/Libraries

1. [The County Board of Education] shall provide schools of two kinds; those for white children and those for colored children. Texas

2. Separate schools shall be maintained for the children of the white and colored races. Mississippi

3. The schools for white children and the schools for negro children shall be conducted separately.

Florida

4. The board of trustees shall...maintain a separate building...on separate ground for the admission, care, instruction, and support of all blind persons of the colored or black race. Louisiana

5. Separate free schools shall be established for the education of children of African descent; and it shall be unlawful for any colored child to attend any white school, or any white child to attend a colored school.

Missouri

6. Separate rooms [shall] be provided for the teaching of pupils of African descent, and [when] said rooms are so provided; such pupils may not be admitted to the school rooms occupied and used by pupils

of Caucasian or other descent. New Mexico

7. Textbooks: Books shall not be interchangeable between the white and colored schools, but shall continue to be used by the race first using them. North Carolina

8. Any instructor who shall teach in any school, college or institution where members of the white and colored race are received and enrolled as pupils for instruction shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, shall be fined in any sum not less than ten dollars ($10.00) nor more than fifty dollars ($50.00) for each offense. Oklahoma

9. Libraries: The state librarian is directed to fit up and maintain a separate place for the use of the colored people who may come to the library for the purpose of reading books or periodicals. North Carolina

10. Any white person of such county may use the county free library under the rules and regulations prescribed by the commissioners’ court and may be entitled to all the privileges thereof. Said court shall take proper provision for the negroes of said county to be served through a separate branch or branches of the county free library, which shall be administered by [a] custodian of the negro race under the supervision of the county librarian. Texas

If this is not enough, what about restricting sex offenders from parks? This must be a new

thing…right?

Jim Crow Law - Parks

1. It shall be unlawful for colored people to frequent any park owned or maintained by the city for the benefit, use and enjoyment of white persons...and unlawful for any white person to frequent any park owned or maintained by the city for the use and benefit of colored persons. Georgia

2. It shall be unlawful for any amateur white baseball team to play baseball on any vacant lot or baseball diamond within two blocks of a playground devoted to the Negro race, and it shall be unlawful for any amateur colored baseball team to play baseball in any vacant lot or baseball diamond within two blocks of any playground devoted to the white race. Georgia

A few states allow probation officers to tell a registered offender, on probation or parole, who can live in their home with them, such as a wife or girlfriend. Some states even allow probation officers to forbid a registered offender under their supervision from marrying. Again this is not new but is a civil and human rights violation.

Jim Crow Law – Cohabitation/Marriage

1. Any Negro man and white woman, or any white man and Negro woman, who are not married to each other, who shall habitually live in and occupy in the nighttime the same room shall each be punished by imprisonment not exceeding twelve (12) months, or by fine not exceeding five hundred ($500.00) dollars.

Florida

2. All marriages between a white person and a negro, or between a white person and a person of negro descent to the fourth generation inclusive, are hereby forever prohibited. Florida

3. The marriage of a person of Caucasian blood with a Negro, Mongolian, Malay, or Hindu shall be null and void. Arizona

4. The marriage of a white person with a negro or mulatto or person who shall have one-eighth or more

of negro blood, shall be unlawful and void. Mississippi

5. It shall be unlawful for a white person to marry anyone except a white person. Any marriage in violation of this section shall be void. Georgia

6. All marriages between a white person and a negro, or between a white person and a person of negro descent, to the third generation, inclusive, or between a white person and a member of the Malay race; or between the negro and a member of the Malay race; or between a person of Negro descent, to the third generation, inclusive, and a member of the Malay race, are forever prohibited, and shall be void. Maryland

7. All marriages between...white persons and negroes or white persons and Mongolians...are prohibited and declared absolutely void...No person having one-eighth part or more of negro blood shall be permitted to marry any white person, nor shall any white person be permitted to marry any negro or person having one-eighth part or more of negro blood. Missouri

8. All marriages of white persons with Negroes, Mulattos, Mongolians, or Malaya hereafter contracted in the State of Wyoming are and shall be illegal and void. Wyoming

What about the stress of travel restrictions. What if your wife had dreamed of going on a special vacation with you? You saved for years to take her on that trip and then one day, many years after your crime and release from prison, a new law is enacted and you can no longer travel abroad without jumping through hoops. What if the law was designed in a way that the foreign country would refuse your entry, even if you are no danger at all? How much stress would this cause you? How much would it hurt your wife?

Jim Crow Laws – Travel Restrictions

1. The conductor must tell each passenger where to sit, that is, in the car or section of the car indicated for his race. If a passenger does not comply, he will be ejected from the train and the railroad will not be liable to damage claims resulting from the ejection. (This law is not operative in the case of passengers of either race who enter the State on a trip from another State which has no such law.) Alabama

2. Unlawful to willfully refuse or fail to comply with any reasonable rule, regulation or directive; penalty is $500 maximum.

3. When a passenger has been assigned an accommodation, he must stay there. The conductor and others of the train crew have the power to eject passengers. Georgia

4. This separation must be maintained on sleeping cars also. Car officials have the power to require and maintain this separation and have the power to punish if the public does not maintain it. Georgia

5. If a passenger refuses an assignment made by a company, he faces a fine of $25 or 30 days. Louisiana

6. A passenger may be ejected from a station for refusal to go to the place assigned him. Louisiana

7. If the driver does not assign passengers to accommodations in this way he may be fined from $100 to $500. Louisiana

8. No passenger may enter any part of the train if the conductor has told him not to. To do so, constitutes a misdemeanor for which a fine of $10 may be imposed. North Carolina

9. Whites must take seats from the front and colored from the rear. If a passenger is told to move in order to maintain this pattern of seating, he must do it or face a misdemeanor charge for which he may be fined $50 or 30 days. Company officials have police powers to carry out the provisions of this act. North Carolina

10. A company employee or agent may reapportion the seating, if necessary, compelling passengers to move as often as may be necessary. Provided, however, that no white and colored persons shall occupy contiguous seats. A company agent failing to carry out these provisions may be fined $5 to $25. A passenger who refuses to act in accordance with these regulations, after having been told of his violation of the law, is guilty of a misdemeanor for which he may be fined $5 to $25. Furthermore, the passenger may be ejected, and may secure no part of his fare in return. VIRGINIA

You see, laws like these are not new. The only difference is the target. Today it is fashionable to hate sex offenders. It is the, "In thing". It also shows that we have not evolved as a people. We like to hate someone. We like to feel power over them to elevate ourselves above them. We are small minded individuals.

Yes, I know, some of you would say that sex offenders are different, that they are dangerous and that blacks were not. The truth is, that was the exact argument that was used against black people. Black men were said to be such a danger to white women and children that they could not even go to the same parks, schools or libraries as white women and children. True, there were a few incidences where black men did rape and kill white women, however was it sound reasoning to punish the whole race for the crimes of just a few. We know the answer to that but we still continue down that same path today. Prejudice is based on hate, fear and ignorance. This same prejudice is at work again today. Studies show that 94.7% of former sex offenders are no danger to you or anyone and yet the public and politicians call for more laws against this

entire class, even those who have reformed and been crime free for decades. We prefer to think that they cannot change. The same was said of the black man, “It is in his nature.” The lies of fearful uninformed people.

No matter how you slice it targeting sex offenders as a class is prejudice and prejudice comes in many forms. The measure of a person is if they can lift themselves above the prejudice or if they succumb to their base emotions, their ego, their hate. After reading this, if you are still convinced that more restrictions on former sex offenders are just and due, then it is likely that you would have fit in well during the times of the Jim Crow Laws, laws that unjustly targeted a whole class of American citizens.

I however would have fared no better during those dark ages of American history than I do today when the new "$%&&*(!" (Not meant offensively) in town are the sex offenders. Each of us has a choice. We can learn the facts and listen to the experts or we can succumb to hate and fear.

The choice is yours, robe or no robe…

R. English rode free.

(R. English is a cartoonist/artist/author, an activist, a husband and a father. But most of all he is an ardent fighter for the underdog and for civil and human rights.)

http://sosen.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=84:the-jim-crows-are-back&catid=21:editorials&Itemid=15

[evli1966 88]

The Stand I Take

In a time when many people, including government officials, are calling for more stringent sex offender laws, why would anyone stand up for these people? This is a question that you may be asking yourself… if you are not a sex offender or not related to one. Since the studies and mounting proof from experts in the field of sex offender management have been ignored, I will present my explanation in another way.

My answer will likely fall on deaf ears if you are a vigilante, xenophobic, or a victim for profit. However if you have an open mind let me tell you why I feel the way I do. If in defense of my stand I told you that tougher laws will only cause more victims, would you believe it?

A fact of the registry is that it is growing at an annual rate of about 8%. Another fact is that 94.7% of all registered sex offenders will not reoffend. So while you are trying to figure out who is a danger, the real bad guy is killing someone. This could be avoided to a great extent if those not likely to reoffend were removed from the public view so that you could find the truly dangerous offenders in your neighborhood.

As it stands now, most people do not trust the information of the registry since there is a dilution roughly 5% to 95% of those who pose a threat and those who do not. But the public is not trained to differentiate who is a danger and who is not. Another argument against the registry as a protection is that of stress. According to experts in the field, many of the laws related to the registry cause an inordinate amount of stress. If you ever watch TV shows like Criminal Minds, they often talk about what stressor it was that made the person snap. Yes, stressors are a real fact in many forms of criminal behavior. So when we think of laws such as residency restrictions, which place human beings out on the streets, as homeless vagabonds, this is a big stressor.

You may be interested to know that today's residency restrictions have a distant cousin, Jim Crow Laws. In the sections in blue to follow I challenge you to replace the word Negro with sex offender and see how well it fits in today's laws code.€ the only difference is that sex offenders are treated far worse since they do not get separate but equal protection under the law.

Jim Crow Laws - Housing

1.€ €There shall be separate buildings, not nearer than one fourth mile to each other, one for white boys and one for Negro boys. White boys and Negro boys shall not, in any manner, be associated together or worked together. Florida

2.€ €The children of white and colored races committed to the houses of reform shall be kept entirely separate from each other. Kentucky

3.€ €Any person...who shall rent any part of any such building to a Negro person or a Negro family when such building is already in whole or in part in occupancy by a white person or white family, or vice versa when the building is in occupancy by a negro person or negro family, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not less than twenty-five ($25.00) nor more than one hundred ($100.00) dollars or be imprisoned not less than 10, or more than 60 days, or both such fine and imprisonment in the discretion of the court. Louisiana

Another stressor for former sex offenders is that of finding employment. Many of us know how great the stress of being unemployed can be. But think of this. If you had a family, a wife, kids, and a dog and you did find a place to hire you, but then they learn that their address must be listed on the public registry, how great a stressor would it be for you to lose the only chance you have to feed your family because of a law that protects no one? How much would this hurt your family?

Jim Crow Law - Labor

1.€ €No colored barber shall serve as a barber [to] white women or girls. Georgia

2.€ €All persons licensed to conduct a restaurant, shall serve either white people exclusively or colored people exclusively and shall not sell to the two races within the same room or serve the two races anywhere under the same license. Georgia

3.€ €All persons licensed to conduct the business of selling beer or wine...shall serve either white people exclusively or colored people exclusively and shall not sell to the two races within the same room at any time. Georgia

Surely we would want former sex offenders to get an education so that they can become more productive, trustworthy citizens, right? In many states schools and libraries are off limits to sex offenders. Even if they are allowed on school property they must register and this registration becomes public. At that point, many times, vigilantes step in and harass the registered offender until they quit. In earlier times these vigilantes were known as the KKK. I have a question for you, would you have been one of the courageous to stand up for black people when standing up for black people was looked down upon or would you dawn the robe?

Jim Crow Law – Education/Libraries

1.€ €[The County Board of Education] shall provide schools of two kinds; those for white children and those for colored children. Texas

2.€ €Separate schools shall be maintained for the children of the white and colored races. Mississippi

3.€ €The schools for white children and the schools for negro children shall be conducted separately.Florida

4.€ €The board of trustees shall...maintain a separate building...on separate ground for the admission, care, instruction, and support of all blind persons of the colored or black race. Louisiana

5.€ €Separate free schools shall be established for the education of children of African descent; and it shall be unlawful for any colored child to attend any white school, or any white child to attend a colored school.Missouri

6.€ €Separate rooms [shall] be provided for the teaching of pupils of African descent, and [when] said rooms are so provided; such pupils may not be admitted to the school rooms occupied and used by pupils of Caucasian or other descent. New Mexico

7.€ €Textbooks: Books shall not be interchangeable between the white and colored schools, but shall continue to be used by the race first using them. North Carolina

8.€ €Any instructor who shall teach in any school, college or institution where members of the white and colored race are received and enrolled as pupils for instruction shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, shall be fined in any sum not less than ten dollars ($10.00) nor more than fifty dollars ($50.00) for each offense. Oklahoma

9.€ €Libraries: The state librarian is directed to fit up and maintain a separate place for the use of the colored people who may come to the library for the purpose of reading books or periodicals. North Carolina

10.€ €Any white person of such county may use the county free library under the rules and regulations prescribed by the commissioners' court and may be entitled to all the privileges thereof. Said court shall take proper provision for the negroes of said county to be served through a separate branch or branches of the county free library, which shall be administered by [a] custodian of the negro race under the supervision of the county librarian. Texas

If this is not enough, what about restricting sex offenders from parks? This must be a new thing…right?

Jim Crow Law - Parks

1.€ €It shall be unlawful for colored people to frequent any park owned or maintained by the city for the benefit, use and enjoyment of white persons...and unlawful for any white person to frequent any park owned or maintained by the city for the use and benefit of colored persons. Georgia

2.€ €It shall be unlawful for any amateur white baseball team to play baseball on any vacant lot or baseball diamond within two blocks of a playground devoted to the Negro race, and it shall be unlawful for any amateur colored baseball team to play baseball in any vacant lot or baseball diamond within two blocks of any playground devoted to the white race. Georgia

A few states allow probation officers to tell a registered offender, on probation or parole, who can live in their home with them, such as a wife or girlfriend. Some states even allow probation officers to forbid a registered offender under their supervision from marrying. Again this is not new but is a civil and human rights violation.

Jim Crow Law – Cohabitation/Marriage

1.€ €Any Negro man and white woman, or any white man and Negro woman, who are not married to each other, who shall habitually live in and occupy in the nighttime the same room shall each be punished by imprisonment not exceeding twelve (12) months, or by fine not exceeding five hundred ($500.00) dollars. Florida

2.€ €All marriages between a white person and a negro, or between a white person and a person of negro descent to the fourth generation inclusive, are hereby forever prohibited. Florida

3.€ €The marriage of a person of Caucasian blood with a Negro, Mongolian, Malay, or Hindu shall be null and void. Arizona

4.€ €The marriage of a white person with a negro or mulatto or person who shall have one-eighth or more of negro blood, shall be unlawful and void. Mississippi

5.€ €It shall be unlawful for a white person to marry anyone except a white person. Any marriage in violation of this section shall be void. Georgia

6.€ €All marriages between a white person and a negro, or between a white person and a person of negro descent, to the third generation, inclusive, or between a white person and a member of the Malay race; or between the negro and a member of the Malay race; or between a person of Negro descent, to the third generation, inclusive, and a member of the Malay race, are forever prohibited, and shall be void. Maryland

7.€ €All marriages between...white persons and negroes or white persons and Mongolians...are prohibited and declared absolutely void...No person having one-eighth part or more of negro blood shall be permitted to marry any white person, nor shall any white person be permitted to marry any negro or person having one-eighth part or more of negro blood. Missouri

8.€ €All marriages of white persons with Negroes, Mulattos, Mongolians, or Malaya hereafter contracted in the State of Wyoming are and shall be illegal and void. Wyoming

What about the stress of travel restrictions. What if your wife had dreamed of going on a special vacation with you? You saved for years to take her on that trip and then one day, many years after your crime and release from prison, a new law is enacted and you can no longer travel abroad without jumping through hoops. What if the law was designed in a way that the foreign country would refuse your entry, even if you are no danger at all? How much stress would this cause you? How much would it hurt your wife?

Jim Crow Laws – Travel Restrictions

1.€ €The conductor must tell each passenger where to sit, that is, in the car or section of the car indicated for his race. If a passenger does not comply, he will be ejected from the train and the railroad will not be liable to damage claims resulting from the ejection. (This law is not operative in the case of passengers of either race who enter the State on a trip from another State which has no such law.) Alabama

2.€ €Unlawful to willfully refuse or fail to comply with any reasonable rule, regulation or directive; penalty is $500 maximum.

3.€ €When a passenger has been assigned an accommodation, he must stay there. The conductor and others of the train crew have the power to eject passengers. Georgia

4.€ €This separation must be maintained on sleeping cars also. Car officials have the power to require and maintain this separation and have the power to punish if the public does not maintain it. Georgia

5.€ €If a passenger refuses an assignment made by a company, he faces a fine of $25 or 30 days. Louisiana

6.€ €A passenger may be ejected from a station for refusal to go to the place assigned him. Louisiana

7.€ €If the driver does not assign passengers to accommodations in this way he may be fined from $100 to $500. Louisiana

8.€ €No passenger may enter any part of the train if the conductor has told him not to. To do so, constitutes a misdemeanor for which a fine of $10 may be imposed. North Carolina

9.€ €Whites must take seats from the front and colored from the rear. If a passenger is told to move in order to maintain this pattern of seating, he must do it or face a misdemeanor charge for which he may be fined $50 or 30 days. Company officials have police powers to carry out the provisions of this act. North Carolina

10.€ €A company employee or agent may reapportion the seating, if necessary, compelling passengers to move as often as may be necessary. Provided, however, that no white and colored persons shall occupy contiguous seats. A company agent failing to carry out these provisions may be fined $5 to $25. A passenger who refuses to act in accordance with these regulations, after having been told of his violation of the law, is guilty of a misdemeanor for which he may be fined $5 to $25. Furthermore, the passenger may be ejected, and may secure no part of his fare in return. VIRGINIA

You see, laws like these are not new. The only difference is the target. Today it is fashionable to hate sex offenders. It is the, "In thing". It also shows that we have not evolved as a people. We like to hate someone. We like to feel power over them to elevate ourselves above them. We are small minded individuals.

Yes, I know, some of you would say that sex offenders are different, that they are dangerous and that blacks were not. The truth is, that was the exact argument that was used against black people. Black men were said to be such a danger to white women and children that they could not even go to the same parks, schools or libraries as white women and children. True, there were a few incidences where black men did rape and kill white women, however was it sound reasoning to punish the whole race for the crimes of just a few. We know the answer to that but we still continue down that same path today.€ Prejudice is based on hate, fear and ignorance. This same prejudice is at work again today. Studies show that 94.7% of former sex offenders are no danger to you or anyone and yet the public and politicians call for more laws against this

entire class, even those who have reformed and been crime free for decades. We prefer to think that they cannot change. The same was said of the black man, "It is in his nature." The lies of fearful uninformed people.

No matter how you slice it targeting sex offenders as a class is prejudice and prejudice comes in many forms. The measure of a person is if they can lift themselves above the prejudice or if they succumb to their base emotions, their ego, their hate. After reading this, if you are still convinced that more restrictions on former sex offenders are just and due, then it is likely that you would have fit in well during the times of the Jim Crow Laws, laws that unjustly targeted a whole class of American citizens.

I however would have fared no better during those dark ages of American history than I do today when the new "$%&&*(!" (Not meant offensively) in town are the sex offenders. Each of us has a choice. We can learn the facts and listen to the experts or we can succumb to hate and fear.

The choice is yours, robe or no robe…

R. English rode free.

(R. English is a cartoonist/artist/author, an activist, a husband and a father. But most of all he is an ardent fighter for the underdog and for civil and human rights.)

http://sosen.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=84:the-jim-crows-are-back&catid=21:editorials&Itemid=15

Edited November 8, 2010 by evli1966

[scandal 951]

You are equating sex offenders to black people? ####### dude??

[^_^ 5,021]

You are equating sex offenders to black people? ####### dude??

all politics is personal

[Obama 2012 1,714]

You are equating sex offenders to black people? ####### dude??

Sex offender registries are a bunch of BS in many cases. Too many 'innocent' people are on the lists and remain on them for a lifetime.

i/e - in many states statutory charges against a 17-year old dating a 15-year old.... 18-year old dating a 17-year old... This is the case in a lot of places where statutory charges are brought up.. You're on 'the list' for life after that. It's a horrible system to be quite honest and an unfair one in many cases.

[evli1966 88]

You are equating sex offenders to black people? ####### dude??

I can not apologize for the writer of the article but I can apologize if you thought my posting was equating a black people to a SO; that was not my intention.

I do not believe it was the authors intention either but it is hard to fully believe that with his parting comments.

A black person was forced to abide those laws by no acts of their own and suffered as did anyone in their family whether of the same race.

A SO or FSO committed an illegal act no matter how small in the eyes of the law they must serve their time recieve appropriate help counseling.

But to continue to punish and pass laws which protect no one but moves the FSO into a subclass citizen is exactly what the Jim Crow like laws are doing.

To clarify the posting is showing how the new laws being made and passed out of ignorance, hate and anger are hurting many people innocent and FSO.

Read each law carefully and understand how each resembles those Jim Crow like laws.

Sex offender registries are a bunch of BS in many cases. Too many 'innocent' people are on the lists and remain on them for a lifetime.

While I agree there are probably more who did commit a crime but the problem is the are sodehumanized for their gross act that they rarely if ever become rpoductive citizens again.

(by the way less than 5% convicted SO ever reoffend yet we want to keep them on a registry with the known Predators)

The majority if not all Predators can be classified when caught and evaluated; not all SO who commit gross acts against a minor or adults are predators. This is the biggest misunderstanding the populace has which is encouraged by the media personalities and vote hungry politicians.

i/e - in many states statutory charges against a 17-year old dating a 15-year old.... 18-year old dating a 17-year old... This is the case in a lot of places where statutory charges are brought up.. You're on 'the list' for life after that. It's a horrible system to be quite honest and an unfair one in many cases.

Those are called Romeo & Juliet cases.

What most people do not know is that many children of the age of 12 and 13 being added to the list as child sex offenders who will register fo rthe rest of their lifes.