FAC Weekly Update 2026-01-13-End Guilt by Association-Follow FAC on Social Media

Weekly update for January 13, 2026. This is recording number 349

Dear Members and Advocates,

For those who joined our monthly member call last week, you heard from our President Emeritus, Gail, about our national effort to engage public relations professionals to change the narrative. Florida Action Committee, along with several other state affiliates, is banding together to launch coordinated national campaigns to shift the conversation from punishment back to public safety and confront the stigma surrounding people with past convictions. A stigma that’s become so debilitating that it not only taints the former offender, but anyone who won’t join the lynch mob in shunning them.

Yesterday we wrote about the Scottish National Party’s proposal to strip “friends of sex offenders” of their nobility titles, just because they associated with someone who has committed a sexual offense in the past. It is an extraordinary example of government reaching beyond individual conduct and into personal association. That is not justice. That has nothing to do with public safety. The person being stripped of their title wasn’t the one who committed the crime. This is guilt by association, and it should concern anyone who values basic fairness and the rule of law. It is also illustrative of what is happening here in the United States. “So-and-so traveled on Jeffrey Epstein’s plane…” The suggestion of mere association is enough to threaten political positions or careers. Even if the association was for public benefit, it’s viewed as nefarious. Large donations to universities for scientific research are being returned, because even Epstein’s money can transmit the “cooties” that nobody wants.

Let’s be clear: we are not minimizing harm and we are not excusing crime. We are suggesting that families, friends, and communities not be turned into collateral damage in a political war on stigma. We are also going to show that rational, evidence-based policy dictates that stable employment, safe housing, family connections, and a sense of purpose are not threats to public safety—they are the very foundations of it. When people are supported, not isolated; when they are given structure, not exclusion; when they are allowed to rebuild rather than permanently branded, communities are safer, not weaker. If the goal is truly prevention and not punishment for its own sake, then policy must be guided by facts, not fear, and by outcomes, not optics.

How many times have you been considered for a job that you’re clearly overqualified for, where a business could get the services of a seasoned professional for the cost of a fast-food worker, but you get turned down because the employer is worried about boycotts or another employee bringing a lawsuit? Worse than just shame, employers and associates are being saddled with liability. Take, for example, a lawsuit in Massachusetts where a town is being sued for issuing a business license to a pizza shop owner with a prior sex offense. The underlying argument is that the government should be liable simply for allowing a person with a past conviction to operate a business. The legal theory behind that case is dangerous. If governments can be held liable for licensing someone with a criminal history, they will stop issuing licenses to them altogether—and we are talking about permanent civil exile.

If that logic holds, then where does it end? Should the state be sued every time a repeat drunk driver with a license harms someone? The state knows alcohol abuse exists. The state knows repeat offenders exist. The state only suspended the person’s license for a year and then allowed them to drive again. Isn’t the logic identical? Yet we do not demand that everyone who ever had a DUI be permanently banned from driving for the rest of their lives, or that the state be held responsible for every crash or death caused by a repeat drunk driver. We recognize that people serve their penalties and are expected to move forward. That principle should not disappear simply because a particular label makes people uncomfortable.

Recent municipal sex offender residency restrictions are no longer only punishing the registrant for violating the ordinance—they are going after the landlords as well, with harsh fines, incarceration, and even loss of their properties. In Putnam County, Florida, a recently enacted ordinance states: “It is unlawful to knowingly rent any property within 2,500 feet of a prohibited location to a sexual offender or predator for use as a residence,” and a violation is a second-degree misdemeanor that can put the landlord in jail! Many registrants who lived in the CCM Trailer Park or in a facility operated by Justice Transitions were living in Putnam peacefully and law-abidingly, but the Commissioners decided to cite the landlords as a way to displace the registrants. It got so severe that one well-intentioned landlord was forced to give up her property.

With employment, housing, licenses, and even personal relationships being targeted, these laws are sending a dangerous message: a person who has completed their sentence can never own a business, hold a license, live anywhere, work anywhere, maintain relationships, or be recognized in society—and anyone who supports their reentry could also be punished. If you are the parent, child, employer, or lifelong friend of a registrant, you could soon have a target on your back as well. Registry-driven policy has been quietly doing this for years; now it’s becoming more overt.

The bottom line is it is impossible to move on unless there is change. Not cosmetic change. Not symbolic change. Real change. Change that rejects guilt by association. Change that allows people to work, to belong, to rebuild. Change that recognizes that stability is what creates safety—not exclusion, not fear, and not perpetual punishment. Change that recognizes that those who provide stability, employment, housing stability, support and accountability are improving public safety, not detracting from it. And in order for change to happen, the public narrative needs to change.

This is exactly why Florida Action Committee is taking bold steps in 2026 to lead a national effort to reframe the conversation, challenge stigma-driven policies, and amplify the voices of those affected. FAC, together with several other state affiliates, is coordinating a strong public relations campaign to show that communities are safer when people are supported, not isolated; when they are given structure, not exclusion; and when they are allowed to rebuild rather than be permanently branded.

To make this effort effective, FAC has brought on a dedicated social media manager to expand our messaging, share compelling stories, and engage the public across platforms. Our goal is to bring these issues out of the shadows, reach more people with accurate information, and create momentum for real, evidence-based change. We invite all members, families, and allies to join us in this effort. Follow FAC on social media (Facebook, X, YouTube) share our posts, and help us ensure that the public understands the truth about what these policies are really doing.

Together, we can reject fear-driven punishment, confront guilt by association, and push for policies that are rooted in reason, dignity, and true public safety. It is impossible to move forward unless we change the story—and FAC is committed to making that change happen.

Sincerely,

The Florida Action Committee