FAC Welcomes new members and continued fight against internet identifier laws
Weekly Update 2017-08-02
Dear Members and Advocates,
In this week’s update, we welcome nearly 75 new members to the Florida Action Committee. A recent membership drive has brought more people to our family and extended our reach into some of the more under-served areas of our State. It is our hope, by continuing to grow and expand, that we become stronger, gain more resources to fight the good fight and bring awareness to more and more areas.
For those who are new to FAC, we whole heartedly welcome you. We hope to become a source of emotional support and information. We are all similarly situated. We are on the registry or have loved ones or family who are. You should never feel like you are going through this alone and you should never feel like you don’t have the time, knowledge or money to make a difference. When we pool our resources, we are able to accomplish incredible things, from kickstarting legal challenges to the registry, to attending events to educate the (misinformed) public, to travelling to Tallahassee to get a “seat at the table” with the legislators.
For those who are not new to FAC, we hope that these updates, our website, monthly member calls and meet and greets make you feel part of a community and is a good source of information and referral. We also hope that our projects, legislative and legal efforts make you feel as though something is being done – even if you, yourself, don’t feel comfortable or equipped to do it yourself. We hope those of you who are not involved will become more involved.
Last week, the FDLE conceded to allow the amended complaint to proceed in the Internet Identifier challenge. In basic terms, this means that the lawsuit moves ahead without one more procedural challenge slowing things down. Based on the orders set forth by the judge the week before, it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that this challenge is not ending. Also last week, a member of our board attended the Federal Sentencing Conference. Comprehensive notes and feedback will be shared on our website in the coming days, so if you were not able to attend (or didn’t care to or even know about it), you’ll still get the information. Next Month, at least one board member will attend the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA) conference. For those who don’t know; ATSA and ATSA members researchers are the source of much of studies on sex offender issues. We hope to learn about new studies coming or presently being worked on.
Thursday night is our monthly member call, on which we will be giving a brief overview of recent legal decisions and the status of other challenges. We will also be sharing feedback from the Federal Sentencing conference and inviting our new members to share issues, ideas learn what topics are important to them, so that we can incorporate those into our efforts. We hope you can join us Thursday night!
Sincerely,
The Florida Action Committee
PS: The next New Member Orientation call is on Thursday August 10th at 8pm. Whether you are a new member or not, everyone is welcome to join the call to learn more about FAC as an organization, our background, mission, position on issues, member conduct, and volunteer opportunities.
SOME HEADLINES FROM THIS WEEK
Family Says City’s Sex Offender Law Goes Way Too Far
MILWAUKEE (CN) — Prosecuted as an adult when he was 17 for having sex with another teenager, a married man with three children has been sleeping in his truck since a Milwaukee suburb forced him out of his house because he’s a sex offender, he says in a constitutional…
PA: DA to request U.S. Supreme Court review of sex offender decision
Roughly two weeks ago the Pennsylvania Supreme Court deemed the state’s current sex offender registration law to be punishment and ultimately barred by both the state and federal constitutions when applied retroactively. That decision may now end up under review from…
Homeless Sex offenders are the greater risk
Below is an excerpt from an article in The Press Democrat, which states something we already know: “Our initial concern with Jessica’s Law was that while it placed harsher sentences on sex offenders, including requiring them to be registered for life, it would not…
8th Circuit rules Sex Offender Registry does not apply to Juvenile
A federal judge has blocked Nebraska from putting a 13-year-old boy who moved to the state from Minnesota on its public sex offender registry. Yesterday, an Eighth Circuit panel affirmed this ruling. The opinion. Note that this applied to a nuance of the law which…