On Police & Online Predator Registries

Megan’s Law began the current era of police and online sex offender registries...and overall that’s been a good thing.

The idea, however, much like the “three strikes you’re out” legislation has been misused and by some, in a cynically deliberate way, in order to undermine support for such policies.

Instead of a general “sex offender registry,” there should be only a pedophile registry.

The idea of a nineteen year old boy charged with “statutory rape” being listed along side pederasts, is not only disturbing, but grossly unfair.

Moreover, it makes all “sex crimes” from the teenager convicted of statutory rape, to “inappropriate touching” to pedophilia...and there is NO moral equivalency between pedophilia and ANY other sex crime.

Megan’s Law should have limited those registries to pederasts, as they are a class by themselves and are THE primary predator that people look to protect their children from. Adding in scores of other “sex offenders” of lesser stature, only serves to make such registries useless to parents who would seek to protect their children.

Same with the “three strikes, you’re out” laws. Those should be limited to three felonies. It’s absurd and self-defeating to put people away for life for a third misdemeanor offense after an initial felony conviction.

Just as sex offender registries should be limited to PEDOPHILES ONLY, “three strikes laws” should be limited to FELONIES ONLY.

Otherwise we risk losing support for the very needed protections such laws were initially meant to provide.

Pedophilia is a crime in a class by itself and it should be treated a such.

Groups like “Perverted Justice” which operates online pedophile stings is doing a lot of good in bringing many online pederasts to justice, as demonstrated on the numerous Dateline programs on their effectiveness.

Of course, those online stings are currently being challenged by the ACLU, yes, the same ACLU whose former Virginia Chapter President was arrested for having a stockpile of kiddie-porn on his PC. So much for the objectivity and "ideological purity" of the ACLU.