Expanding registration requirements is punishment without a new crime.
Here’s a question we don’t hear asked when lawmakers propose another restriction on people required to register as sex offenders: What did they do to deserve the new restriction?
We’re not talking about the original offense. We know why they’re on the registry. The question is what they’ve done since. Did they commit another crime? Violate probation? Violate a registration requirement? Or did they simply continue to exist as someone who is required to register?
The answer is the last one.
In 2026, Florida lawmakers expanded residency restrictions to include public swimming pools. The restriction wasn’t limited to registrants who were committing crimes at swimming pools. It applies to everyone subject to sex-offender registration.
In all the debate over HB 45/SB 212, not one lawmaker asked what the 90,000 people on Florida’s registry did to warrant this new restriction. Again, not what did they do 10, 20, or 30 years ago. We know about the original offense. That is why they are on the registry. But the more relevant questions: Did they commit another offense? Did they violate the terms of their probation or supervised release? Did they violate a registration requirement? Were they exposing themselves at a swimming pool? Did they do anything wrong at all to warrant this new ban?
It’s insanity that someone can finish his sentence, finish probation, comply with every registration requirement, stay out of trouble for decades — and still have lawmakers decide 20 years later that he can’t live within 1000 feet of a condominium swimming pool just because he’s on the registry.
Each legislative session I find myself asking the same question; what did we do to trigger the new restriction? Nothing! Nothing at all. It’s our existing status as a “sex offender” triggered it.
And here’s another question that comes to mind each legislative session. Why do lawmakers go to such great lengths to stress that the new restriction is “not punishment”. If it didn’t look like obvious punishment to everyone, they wouldn’t have to mention that, would they?
FAC will never argue that people who commit new sex crimes shouldn’t be held seriously accountable. Of course they should! But if someone has served his sentence, completed supervision, complied with the registry and stayed out of trouble, why should lawmakers be allowed to keep adding new punishments simply because his name remains on a list?
If the canned answer is that registration isn’t punishment, then lawmakers should explain why its restrictions and consequences look exactly like punishment. Can’t wait for this lawsuit to be filed in a few days!
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This is the kind of argument we need. The more clear we are about the definitions and how the lawmakers does not separate one from the other when imposing new burdens on us….maybe the argument we need to put in the forefront of the Supreme Court
The registry is just one example, but it reveals something larger about how we teach citizenship. We present rights as permanent features of American life when they’re actually conditional subject to removal through legal processes most people never learn about until they’re caught in them. This isn’t about running scared-straight programs or convincing teenagers that one mistake will ruin their lives. It’s about honesty. Real civics education would acknowledge that systems exist specifically to restrict rights, that these systems are complex and consequential, and that understanding them is part of being an informed citizen.
What could this actually look like? Teaching how collateral consequences work. Explaining what registries are, how they function, and what they require. Discussing probation and parole conditions. Covering how convictions affect housing, employment, voting, and movement. Not in exhaustive legal detail, but enough that people understand the landscape that these aren’t abstract possibilities but functioning systems affecting millions of people and their families.
Right now, only people directly impacted learn this, and they learn it through crisis. A family member gets charged and suddenly everyone is Googling registry requirements, residence restrictions, and reporting violations. That’s when people discover what their government class never mentioned: that citizenship isn’t just about rights you have, but about understanding how and when those rights can be taken away.
Maybe the question isn’t whether we should teach this, but why we’ve avoided it for so long. What does it say about our approach to citizenship education that we prepare young people to vote but not to understand the systems that could one day govern their daily lives? What would it mean to teach civics honestly not to scare anyone, but to actually prepare them for the country they live in?
How many PFR feel they could pass associate level law class now they been informed on much more specically after being on? Or family? Friends?
I could not pass a law class any more than I could successfully represent myself in court.
Not unless I attend the classes and come prepared.
I am grateful that we get experienced attorneys to represent us.
For sure I would need to attend to gain knowledge on specific subjects being covered. But with current knowledge im asking if a community college level class might seem easier ?
Also thank you for anyone helping to all Attorneys legal aids anyone!! Not to downplay their decades possibly century wealth of knowledge between all
George Carlin said something to the effect that people don’t have rights, only privileges. Rights cannot be taken away. I’ve been on the registry for a decade. Far less time than others have been and the registry has changed significantly since I first started.
BWJ
We are all in it together. I was one of the first batch of 100 (Or whatever the # was) to be placed on Florida’s registry in 1997. My first registration was horrible, and the deputy had no idea what he was doing and interrogated me for over 2 1/2 hours. Of course, I was on probation at the time, but the probation officer treated me with more respect than law enforcement did, and that is really saying something.
On January first, 2027, I will have been registering for 30 years. My crime was 35 years ago but still being punished. Oh sorry, we are not allowed to call the registry punishment according to the supreme court, bless their hearts.
For all who have THANK YOU-Donate donate donate- Let’s say all 3400* members does $25 think it seems small but thats 85k in LEGAL power. Probably more than that but example how quick it can be done please – DONATE
A civil regulatory scheme does NOT put you in prison!!!
I challenge anyone to show me a civil regulatory scheme that puts you in prison-it does NOT!!
A civil regulatory scheme only imposes fines and does NOT classify a felony!!!
Yet an infraction against the registry imprisons you and is a felony infraction.
Why is this not argued in court when it clearly and irrefutably proves that the registry CANNOT be classified as a civil regulatory law because it puts you in prison and is felony infraction??
Civil regulatory laws do NOT put you in prison!!!
Punitive laws DO put you in prison!!
This is plain and simple!!
Therefore, because it imprisons you it cannot be legally called a civil regulatory law.
The Judges should be challenged on this fact because it goes against all legal terminology of what is civil and what is punitive.
First ask them to admit the difference between civil law and punitive law that civil laws do not put someone in prison, and then ask them ‘how then can the registry be called a civil law when it imprisons those who break it?!’
Some violations of civil regulatory schemes can result in criminal penalties.
@FAC
Can you please name any civil regulatory schemes that imprison you and are counted as a felony infraction.
You can go to jail for a civil infraction, but not prison.
Please name those civil regulatory schemes that are felonies and imprison you.
It’s not the schemes themselves that are felonies. It’s the infraction. Some infractions can be civil, some criminal.
@FAC
Precisely!! A civil scheme cannot be criminal and vice-versa.
If it is a civil infraction, then only a civil remedy is due.
If it is a criminal infraction (which an FTR is and the registry itself) then it cannot be called a civil law, but a punitive law!!
The registry cannot be legally defined a civil law because its repercussions are all criminal in nature.
Please read below:
Understanding Civil Law:
Civil law deals with legal disputes between private parties, such as individuals or organizations. It encompasses various issues, including contracts, property disputes, and personal injury claims.
Key Characteristics of Civil Law:
Nature of Cases: Civil cases involve disputes that do not constitute criminal offenses. Examples include:
Breach of contract
Personal injury
Property disputes
Outcomes: The outcomes of civil cases typically include:
Monetary damages to compensate the injured party
Injunctions or orders to do or refrain from doing something
Differences from Criminal Law:
Civil law is distinct from criminal law, which involves actions considered harmful to society and can lead to imprisonment. Here are the main differences:
Aspect Civil Law Criminal Law
Purpose Resolve disputes between parties Punish offenses against society
Penalties Monetary damages or injunctions Imprisonment, fines, or community service
Burden of Proof Preponderance of evidence (51%) Beyond a reasonable doubt (100%)
Court Type Civil court Criminal court
Conclusion
Civil law does not result in imprisonment. Instead, it focuses on resolving disputes and providing remedies to the affected parties.
An FTR was regarded as a civil offense and an infraction was only a fine which made it a civil infraction.
Now, an FTR is a criminal offense that involves prison time (no longer a civil offense) and cannot be classified in all legal language as a civil offense or a or a civil law as they are falsely claiming.
The legal language is plain and simple-civil laws do NOT send you to prison.
This proves that the registry is criminal law( punitive, NOT remedial) and not civil as they claim.
I am still requesting that you show me a civil law that sends someone to prison for an infraction.
@FAC
When I posted, it did not properly separate between civil law and criminal law as was shown but combined them together instead of dividing them.
@FAC
Here are the parts that were divided side by side.
Aspect:
Civil law:
Purpose: Resolve disputes between parties
Penalty Monetary damages or injunctions
Who files the case: Private individuals or entities
Standard of Proof:Preponderance of evidence
Criminal law:
Purpose: Punish offenses against society
Penalty : Fines, imprisonment, or community service
\Who files the case: Government (prosecutor)
Standard of proof: Beyond a reasonable doubt
Conclusion : Civil law does not result in imprisonment. Instead, it focuses on compensating the injured party or resolving disputes without criminal penalties.
Thank you for what you are doing. I was able to make a small donation to the cause. I hope everyone sends a a little. We need this law suit to be successful.