Monday, October 24, 2011

Sex Offenders In Riverside Get No Halloween

Sex Offenders In Riverside Get No Halloween

Let's just say for a moment that you're a registered sex offender. That for some reason or another you broke some law and had to sign up to the sex offender list. Not only is your life going to suck going door to door telling people you're a sex offender as they assume you're going to touch their children. But now you can't even celebrate Halloween..

Registered sex offenders will not be allowed to display Halloween decorations on Oct. 31, and exterior or ornamental lights would need to be turned off between 5 p.m. and 11:59 p.m. on Halloween. The measure, which went into effect immediately, also makes it illegal for a convicted sex offender to answer the door when trick-or-treaters visit."If these people can't decorate their houses, if they can't turn on their lights, then the children aren't going to stop," said resident Cynthia Ferry. "It's just an effort on their part to help us help our children."

The board directed county officials to notify registrants of the measure.

"I hope that in our haste to get this on the books that it's enforceable,'' board chairman Bob Buster said.

The proposal is part of a larger anti-loitering ordinance approved last year. The ordinance makes it a misdemeanor for a sex offender to to be within 300 feet of a day care center, library, park, playground, public swimming pool, school or anywhere else that provides "classes or group activities for children."

Sex offender registrants also cannot reside within 2,000 feet of a school, park or other facility catering to kids, according to the ordinance.

Violators face fines of $1,000 or more and six months in jail.

California law requires anyone convicted of a felony sex offense to register with a local law enforcement agency when moving into an area. The law also requires that registrants alert authorities whenever they change residence, and that they annually renew their registration.

About 3,500 registered sex offenders reside in Riverside County, according to the Megan's Law sex offender database. Many of them live in municipalities not under county jurisdiction.

Now before you think I'm defending someone convicted of a crime that puts them in "Sex offender" position, let's just be the voice of reason here. This law is fucking stupid. Really really stupid and I can't believe its being passed.

Okay, that's a lie. I know the world we live in. This is just the same amount of stupid our country has been passing day in and day out. Especially given the fact that

A.) child molestation is more likely to happen within a friend of the family/family member. So having that sex offender locked away on Halloween means very little to bringing about more safety.

B.)Then you get into the realm that the majority of sexual offenders aren't event child molesters. Get caught with your girlfriend by park rangers? Sex offender.

There's also the fact that you really shouldn't be able to limit someone from celebrating a holiday. Like, do you tell any bank robber that forever more they are banned from any banks? Where is the line drawn on all this silliness?

But let's go back to that notion that not all sex offenders are pedobears. Because it's very true. But hey, let's just assume that they diddled a kid to get that strike against them. What does it say about our justice system? Does a person really not pay for their crimes with time served and so forth?

Either way, this is just one more reason why Riverside is stupid. Allow your kid to go to the meth lab about to explode, but hey no.. don't dare go to the house with the lights off, cause you know it's a sex offender.

And by the way, out of town? Not into Halloween (You know, those conservatives who think it's Satan's play date?) You are now labeled a pedorass as well as your house getting egged for having the lights out on Halloween.

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