ACTION ALERT: Rep Smith Amends an Unrelated Bill to Restrict Passports for ALL Registered Sex Offenders

ACTION ALERT: Rep Smith Amends an Unrelated Bill to Restrict Passports for ALL Registered Sex Offenders

Saturday, August 3, 2013

ACTION ALERT: Rep Smith Amends an Unrelated Bill to Restrict Passports for ALL Registered Sex Offenders

8-3-2013 Washington DC:In March of this year I alerted folks of a New Bill in Congress introduced by Rep. Smith of New Jersey, it was HR 898 "Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2013."

Stated Intent: To authorize appropriations for fiscal years 2014 through 2017 for the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, and for other purposes.

Nothing like seeing the "And for other purposes," the governmental catch-all-do-all phrase. While the intent is "Sex Trafficking" the wording is such that it can affect any registered sex offender traveling to other countries, which is why I bring this to everyone's attention.

Well that bill has languished in Congress with no action, in fact only ONE other person would co-sponsor the bill. Apparently that bothered Rep. Smith because now he has pulled a fast one by AMENDING another bill in such a way that the public would not know anything about that amendment until the House approved it. That is exactly what has happened.

Rep Smith proposed an amendment to HR 2848 Department of State Operations and Embassy Security Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2014, and the House Committee approved his amendment. Clearly no Lawmaker would vote against a bill on security of our foreign embassies.

Now if you look at HR-2848 on Thomas you WILL NOT find his amendment, why is unknown, but everyone in Congress is now on break so the public is kept in the blind; kinda! Rep Smith released a Press Release in which he says you can read what he has proposed by clicking on HERE but there are no details of what actually went into the bill, nor are there any details in this News Release.

It is very likely what he proposed in his original bill HR-898 is what we will find in HR2848 when Thomas decides to post the amendment. So what do we do in the meantime?

Well, Rep Smith says -in his Press Release- that HR 2848 will be in front of the full House in September, so our suggestion is that everyone contact their Reps NOW, and tell them to take that amendment out.

Rep Smith -in Press Release- says only certain sex offenders would be affected, but in reality -reading his bill HR-898- ANY and ALL persons registered will be affected if they apply for a passport, or if they currently have a passport (Passports being good for 10 years).

For now, have a great day and a better tomorrow.
eAdvocate

In wake of murders, calls for sex offender registry to go privat - FOX Carolina 21

In wake of murders, calls for sex offender registry to go private - FOX Carolina 21

FOX Carolina 21

GREENVILLE, SC (FOX Carolina) -
At its heart, law enforcement agencies across the country say that the sex offender registry is a great resource when used. For example, when people are moving into a neighborhood, or perhaps if they have questions about a neighbor.
"The sex offender registry is a tool, and it's a tool for both law enforcement and the general public," said Lt. Michael Hildebrand with the Greenville County Sheriff's Office. "And just like every tool, when it is used properly, it's a good thing."
But Union County deputies said that registry was used as a tool for evil.
Jeremy and Christine Moody told authorities that they targeted Charles and Gretchen Parker, because Charles was on the sex offender registry, and they were gunning for more sex offenders on the list.
Deputies said the Moodys targeted Parker, claiming he was a "child molester", but authorities said the charge that made him a sex offender in South Carolina involved an adult. According to the sex offender registry, Parker also had another case that went back to 1991, but FOX Carolina has not been able to confirm details on that case.
"I wasn't at all surprised that it happened, unfortunately," said Brenda Jones, director of the group Reform of Sex Offender Laws.
The goal of Jones' organization is to limit public sex offender registries to law enforcement, schools, and only limit informing he public of sex offenders to a 'need to know' basis.
Jones said the murders of Charles and Gretchen Parker should serve as a wake-up call on why sex offenders need protection, and argued that if registries exist, they shouldn't show exact addresses.
"It's public shaming," she said. "People have piled so many things onto it, that the environment of sex offenders, it's like continued probation."
Law enforcement maintains that the sex offender registry is a tool that is beneficial, and is largely used for informative purposes for communities, and it will likely remain that way.
Authorities are also quick to mention that just because someone is on a sex offender registry, it doesn't mean they're a child molester or a rapist.
People can be put on the list for something as little as urinating in public, which can result in a charge of indecent exposure.
"Sometimes that offense is not easily recognizable or understandable by the general public, so when you see that charge or that offense, sometimes you can twist that to make it something that it's really not," Hildebrand said.