NARSOL: SEX OFFENDER RIGHTS GROUP WARNS SHERIFF,THREATENS LAWSUIT
January 29, 2020 –The National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws (NARSOL) has sent official correspondence to Sheriff Neil Warren of Cobb County, Georgia, reminding him that the sex offender registry is a civil regulatory scheme and not a vehicle for further punishment. The letter also calls on him to cease and desist from imposing unlawful registration requirements or else prepare to meet NARSOL’s attorneys in court.
“Your deputies are imposing invented requirements not contained in the Georgia Sex Offender Notification and Registration Act (SORNA). We strenuously urge you to become familiar with the limitations of your office as it relates to SORNA and train your deputies and staff to act properly and constitutionally,”stated Brenda Jones, NARSOL’s Executive Director.
In a subsequent statement to NARSOL’s supporters, Jones indicated that the letter was sent with the hope of convincing Sheriff Warren to initiate changes in how his office handles registration in order to avoid litigation.
NARSOL’s longstanding policy is to seek alternative resolutions rather than going to court. NARSOL sent similar letters to the sheriffs in Spaulding and Butts counties prior to initiation of two lawsuits currently pending in the United States District Court. Litigation was the only option because neither sheriff chose to respond to NARSOL’s request to open the lines of communication on the subject.
On October 29, 2019, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, Macon Division,issued a restraining order preventing Sheriff Long from requiring signs to be placed on the property of those on the sexual offense registry at Halloween, validating the complaint brought against Butts County Sheriff Gary Long and other Butts County officials that placing signs on private property breached constitutional rights.
NARSOL delivered a warning letter to another Georgia county sheriff, Ben Hill’s sheriff Lee Cone, who announced a similar policy of signs at Halloween on the property of registrants. Since Sheriff Cone did not respond to the letter, he can likely expect the same litigation as that which Sheriff Long just came out on the losing end of last October.
NARSOL has observed activity across many states seeking to limit persons required to register from fully reintegrating into their communities and participating in society as full-fledged citizens.
“States and communities need to be on notice,” Jones remarked. “They will be challenged the minute they start threatening the constitutional rights of registered citizens.”“They just need to be prepared,” concludes Jones. “We are watching, and we are ready.”
NARSOL opposes dehumanizing registries and works to eliminate discrimination, banishment, and vigilantism against persons accused or convictedof sexual offenses through the use of impact litigation, public education, legislative advocacy, and media outreach in order to reintegrate and reconcile affected individuals and restore their constitutional rights
NARSOL has managed to turn the tables on how this is covered in the local press. The reporters quote NARSOL extensively, while sheriffs remain silent.
The only big flaw I see in coverage is that they refer to NARSOL as a “sex offender advocacy organization.” When you consider the statistics on who is likely to offend and who isn’t, as well as NARSOL’s position on sexual abuse, a “sex offender advocacy organization” they are not! Reporters will still need to be educated in that area.
This was NARSOL’s press release. They wrote it.
I was referring to the media’s response to this press release.
Gotcha!
We should actually refer to ourselves as “anti-registry activists.”
It’s direct and to the point.
We’re just spinning our wheels with euphemisms like “sex offender reform coalition.”
“Anti-registry activists” is spot on. The term arouses curiosity in the reader and may prompt them to read on. We are against public conviction registries of all types, and readers may be, too, as public conviction registries proliferate.
Whereas the term “sex offender activist” prompts a knee-jerk reaction from some readers who may be turned off. We are not sex offender activists, we might explain to the reporter, as we oppose sex offending of all kinds.
FAC has done a great job getting media outlets to recognize Gail as an information resource on this issue. Now I wonder whether the next step would be to issue more frequent press releases, making the first move, as NARSOL did, and putting overzealous sheriffs on the defensive (perhaps once we’ve sufficiently funded FAC Legal to put our money where our mouth is).
I like your thinking!!
Absolutely. Something like that. Would have to think about it. Perhaps “Anti-Registry Americans”? “Anti-Registry Moralists”? Something.
But “sex offender advocacy organization” is about the worst I can think of actually!! I don’t think we should ever, ever say “sex offender”, for any reason. I think it is extremely harmful. I’ve told NARSOL that directly.
I’m not advocating for “sex offenders”. Those people commit sex crimes. I’m advocating for People Forced to Register. That is accurate.
So many people in the public think the Registries are just some big game and that they are part of a person “following the requirements of their release”. 100% nonsense.
People are Registering because they are being forced to by terrorists at the point of a gun. Nothing less than that and for no legitimate reason. You will Register or you may be shot and you will be imprisoned.
Dear Florida Action Committee, I have a question and I’m not trying to be funny. Why can law enforcement break the laws (mandating exceeding registration requirements)and claim ignorance and not be arrested but yet if I do something unlawful I am told there is no exception for ignorance of the law? Please explain this to me. Thank you in advance and for all you do. J
There is no Florida Statute under which that is classified as a crime, to my knowledge.
As a former law enforcement officer, that is why I left. Officers, troopers, deputies etc. all seem to have a wide and vast immunity to prosecution for so many things.
” I kicked the guys brains out because he mouthed off to me ”
becomes ” I feared for my life and backup was 10 minutes away so I did what I had to do to get home to my family after end of watch”.
I saw this often from corrupt cops I would go to sleep at night and have nightmares. If you went forward with what you saw from another officer either the supervisor would sweep it under the rug and cover it up, you would become known as a snitch or usually both.
I worked for both a huge department and a small one and both are just as bad. Just in a large department you can somewhat blend in. In all the years I worked there at the large department, I never once met the chief of police. In the small one I actually went to the chief’s house for dinner once.
But the sense of power most ( not all ) officers get, goes to their heads. The courts frown on going after law enforcement unless it has the backing of the top brass of the department. Too many officers getting arrested and the chief or sheriff can get the boot so they tend to handle things ” In house” with maybe a write up in the officers file or a day suspension.
I personally got several pats on the back from one supervisor for cases I solved but never got any awards or notations in my file like the seasoned officers did. Most of the time they would thank me for solving it then the chief would go on the news and take all the credit for single handedly making an arrest and solving the case.
When I got locked up, I had a double target on my back. I was in for a sex crime AND a former cop.
Maybe if we sue enough sheriff’s departments, they will tell the state they are no longer enforcing registrations until corrections are made at the court level.
We all know, the more the law makers and the enforcers get away with, the more crap they will throw at the wall. Wonder we do not have to wear a sandwich board around our necks every time we leave the house with our charges listed on them.