The Asinine Nature of Sex Offender Proximity Laws in Florida
Dear Members and Advocates,
I had chosen a different topic to write about this week, but an email received moments ago infuriated me. A very dedicated FAC member in Brevard County was advised by his PO that he could no longer eat at a Denny’s restaurant that he’s eaten at since 2003 because the Ramada Inn (located within 1000 feet) put in a playground. He can go to a Publix supermarket 9 miles away from his home, but he can’t go to the one 1.5 miles away because a condo (located within 1000 feet) has a tennis court.
The proximity ordinance (you can’t be present within 1000 feet of…) is an absolutely asinine law to begin with. If the government is so worried about him snatching a kid off the streets, how many more children will he pass on the 9 mile commute than in 1.5 miles? What makes it more asinine is your entire life becomes a moving target. You frequent one restaurant for years but someone puts a swing in their backyard 900 feet away and it’s time to find a new place to eat? You play cards with your buddy for years, but a basketball court goes in 875 feet away from his house so it’s time to make new friends?
I responded to his email with a rhetorical question, ‘so you can drop your suit off at the cleaners on Monday and not know if you can go back to pick it up on Friday?’, but as soon as I hit send, I worried that my sarcastic reply might be taken the wrong way. His life under these conditions has become so ridiculous that my comment might be received as derisive rather than sympathetic. The reality is; you literally have no stability in your dry cleaner, your banker, your pharmacist or even your barber if this ordinance can put them off limits from one day to the next.
A few years ago we initiated a lawsuit in Seminole County challenging their proximity ordinance. We had the backing of Florida Institutional Legal Services and a great opinion from the court (see:, https://floridaactioncommittee.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Seminole-Order-Denying-Motion-to-Dismiss.pdf) but an obstacle was placed in our way… the court did not allow the John Doe plaintiffs to proceed anonymously. For the case to proceed, they would need to be named and with Seminole being such as tight community, the plaintiffs did not want to be harassed by the police or community members for their involvement.
We understand people’s unwillingness to put themselves out there. There’s humiliation if picked up by the news or if someone who didn’t know a person was registered learns they are. There’s risk of harassment from the police (we were suing the County’s Sheriff) or vigilantes. And there’s always the safety and peacefulness of an individual’s family members to respect. So that case died on the vine but never left our thoughts.
We always considered a similar case for Brevard, but Seminole was easier because they had a map that would avoid hiring a GIS mapping expert, but we had other challenges impacting the entire state and not just a couple of counties, but we had such a difficult time raising funds for our other challenges, but we were given a seat at the reentry task force and wanted to see if we can make in-roads politically…
…the big “BUT” is it’s more than 2 years later and we’re still hearing situations like the one that we did today. Enough is enough! We have a strong enough member base in Brevard to make something happen and that’s what we’re going to try to do. Stay tuned… there’s more to come!
Sincerely,
The Florida Action Committee
SOME HEADLINES FROM THE WEEK
Member Submission: Sex Offenders: A Glimmer of Hope
Born and raised in Florida, I know a thing a thing or two about that state. With two loved ones serving sentences in prison for sex crimes there, I know a thing or two about the sex offense laws in that state as well. And for personal reasons, I know a thing or two…
Adding Sex Offender Probation Conditions After Sentencing Not Permitted
Last week, the 2nd District Court of Appeals in Florida ruled that adding special sex offender conditions to probation after sentencing, where those conditions were expressly excluded at sentencing, doesn’t fly. In Jones v. State, Fla: Dist. Court of Appeals, 2nd…
Florida Sex offender beaten by fellow jail inmate dies
Sad news to report. The man we wrote about in last week’s weekly update (https://floridaactioncommittee.org/weekly-update-2018-07-10/) has died. James Mills was in jail after being arrested by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s office on June 12 for failure to register as…
PA: 5 years for missed re-registration date goes back for resentencing
A Pennsylvania man who received a five to 10 year prison sentence for being three weeks late for a registration, will get a re sentencing. The 45 year old man was required to register because of a 2004 conviction in Maryland. He registered in Maryland for years and…
I didn’t realize how unreasonable Florida’s law really is. In Michigan, the law bans loitering within 1,000 feet of a school. Grocery shopping is okay. Even while on parole, the parole agents let us use stores within a prohibited school zone. The main hospital in my town is also right next to a high school, but I was permitted to use it. Of course, the law doesn’t define exactly what it means by “loitering,” so you’re always worried about that. I never realized how many little parochial schools there were in my town until I had to take them into consideration while job or apartment hunting. But Michigan looks easy compared to Florida.
Gerald is right..Michigan is completely different from Florida. I live in a school zone and have never been confronted about it by law enforcement. I can go to whatever stores, theaters, restaurants, and parks I want to…I play softball in parks with playgrounds and have never been bothered by the cops there either…My experiences with police have generally been met with frustration on their part that they have to waste their time doing compliance checks..they’ve told me to my face that I’m of no concern to them…even being a “tier” 3 and a lifetime registrant is better than being labeled a “sex predator” as they do in Florida..I heard Capt. Charles talk about how ridiculous that label is and I couldn’t agree more. I feel for those of you who are designated with that label because I know that’s not the case. I pray for many of you down there in Florida because you truly do have it worse than just about anybody in the country…I’ve come to look forward every day to hear what Capt. Charles & Gerald and some of the others have to say and their insights.
I am believing that the IML, the playground laws, and such are all about predjudice and as we know,hate is a spirit that grows. Predjudice is one of those things.
I fear what happened to the Jews. The lawmakers and people are corralling us the same as they have with the Mexican families and with much the same motives that come from cold blooded and ignorant hate.
Humans have always been this way throughout history, always groups of people who find a way to bully and destroy lives.
The only thing that stopped it before was fighting back and it was never easy. It is not enlightenment that serves to stop monsters, but forcing a change in the law. It’s worth studying the changes that history tells us about. For example, burning people at the stake, kangaroo trials, legal slavery and all. Of the devices of torture that were developed through the history of man; those people who developed and agreed with such carnage are monsters and it’s the same with the people who are now wearing the scarlet letter. So, what changed it before? What can change it now?
To Clarify: I meant when I wrote that it’s the same with people who now wear the scarlet letters, …. I’m saying that it’s all about the public’s ability to hate and treat us like they did the Jews, and people who were mistreated, enslaved and tortured. Enlightenment will not change them, trying to reason with them won’t change them, but fighting back will eventually change the way that they treat us, but as with all things, it takes time.
The government preaches against discrimination, yet has created a new “class” with these registry laws, and made discrimination not only acceptable, but mandatory in some respects. Discrimination and hate go hand in hand.