‘Common sense’ or ‘based on fear?’

A Kansas Senate bill barring registered sex offenders from school property got strong pushback Tuesday from some defense advocates who say it is based on inaccurate beliefs about offenders and would end up failing to keep children safe.

The bill, submitted by Republican Sen. Kellie Warren of Leawood, stems from an incident on Feb. 8 in which a registered sex offender who had been convicted in 2011 was allowed to attend a school dance at Blue River Elementary in Overland Park.

Teresa Butell, a state representative for the National Association for Rational Sexual Offenders Laws, spoke and submitted written testimony saying that most sex offenders do not go on to be convicted of another sexual offense. The longer offenders live in a community offense-free, the less likely they are to be convicted of another sex crime, she said, citing public health data from Canada.

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