Last night I lay awake in bed with a puzzle racking my brain. How can I finish the sentence “sex offenders shouldn’t be allowed to vote, because ____”?
It’s an exercise I go through often, and certainly during every legislation session, where someone comes up with a new “sex offender” rule and I try to play devil’s advocate and come up with some previously unforeseeable scenario, where I can make the rule seem rational.
Sex offenders can’t be garbage men? OK… how about ‘sex offenders shouldn’t be allowed to haul garbage because they may drive past a kid and toss them in the truck?’ Or, how about ‘sex offenders shouldn’t be permitted to work as garbage men because they could rummage through people’s trash looking for discarded photos of children.”
Or last year’s ridiculous “drone bill”? OK… how about ‘sex offenders shouldn’t be allowed to own drones because drones may have cameras with which they can take pictures of kids… (as opposed to cell phones or actual cameras)’? Or, how about ‘sex offenders shouldn’t be allowed to own drones, because they may have an aerial fetish and could mishandle the remote control while masturbating which could cause it to crash and injure a child’?
But no matter how hard I thought about it or how random a scenario I envisioned, I could not come up with any rational reason why a bill that would restore voting rights to felons in Florida would expressly exclude murderers and sex offenders.
What’s the potential liability in voting? Schools are generally closed on election day, but even so, Florida offers vote-by-mail. Could they be worried that sex offenders will draw dirty pictures on their ballots?
As far fetched as I could envision the scenarios, I couldn’t come up with a single valid justification for excluding sex offenders (or murderers, for that matter) from voting. Voting!!!! Seriously, what’s the horrible harm that can come of it?
It really, really bothers me!
Why, you may ask, does it “really, really” bother me? When there are so many other sex offender challenges to battle; such as residency restrictions, proximity ordinances, burdensome in-person registration requirements and my chronic underemployment caused by the public shaming list, why is my right to cast a vote every few years even on the radar of things that eat away at me?
Because all these other rules and restrictions are driven by government. Whether you believe that every vote counts or one vote won’t make a difference, it would be nice to at least have some say. Excluding me from my right to vote, while convicted armed robbers and drug kingpins will be able to, is a slap in my face. It says, you don’t matter. You don’t count!
Well I count too!
Dustin is correct – how stupid would it be to give those you persecute a voice? Really stupid! We do not get to vote on most proposed legislation anyway (Fed or State) which is one way that Americans gave away their rights long ago. It should be a requirement that any proposed legislation requires input from the people. Our only hope is to vote out those that have created legislation we oppose. However, that is after the fact.
I have always said that RSOs that were adjudication withheld and can still vote should be a politicians worse nightmare
! also wonder what other things Book is involved in. Wouldn’t be surprised if all his anti-SO bluster is to cover up other corruption that would be far less favorable to the public.
Maybe he has interests in the ankle monitor company(ies) that sweet daughter Lauren is potentially helping with her new bills.
I totally agree, after living in 3 different states where he was a registered voter, my husband has been denied that right here in Florida. It is not only RSO’s that are being punished, it is their families that are also being branded along with them. The total count needs to add another few million people to the growing list that are affected by the registry. (Feel free to share my story)- I have been the sole support in my household since 2010, when my husband was promoted to manager and it was only then that his employer did a background check and fired him when they found out he was a convicted sex offender (he filled out the application that asked is he had been convicted of a felony in the past 10 years, which he had not. Two years ago I tried to get a job cleaning as a housekeeper after moving to Florida. I completed and went through background checks, two interviews, and then they checked multiple references before the owner told the agency I applied through that I was hired. The next day I received a call from the agency stating the owner, after using my home address she had found on my resume’, had gone online the night before, and using my address and finding my husband’s info online, she had changed her mind because my husband is an RSO! When I protested that his charge was from a conviction in 1990, long before I had married him (and of course, long before Megan’s law existed, and yes we joined the ex-post facto lawsuit) the agency rep agreed it wasn’t right, but she could do nothing. Thinking I should sue the owner for defamation of character, I realized the owner comes from old money and was/is an attorney who runs charities. and I’m just a poor, stupid woman who married a sex offender 11 years ago after falling in love, and now I get to share the label with him! I have a degree and many years of experience working in state government as a social worker. I was stupid enough to move to Florida, so now I apparently I am not fit for cleaning someone’s toilets.
Yep it makes sense you can beat a woman or child and get your rights back.. but if your a sex offender you have no rights the rest of your life.
As a RSO and former resident of Massachusetts, I just can’t fathom how backward and ridiculous Florida law is in regards to RSOs. In Massachusetts, there are three levels of supervision and the majority of RSOs are removed after 20 years, the registry is not readily available to the public except for Level 3 offenders, there are minimal restrictions on residency, and once the RSO has completed their “punishment” their civil rights are restored automatically. So, what is the problem? Massachusetts seems to be surviving just fine with (I suspect) close to the same number of RSOs as Florida. The cynic might say, “So move back.” I say I should be able to live in Florida and have the same “rights” as a Mass. citizen.
Well we cant move back as we are stuck on florida for life. Hownis thay fair. Id be off already and fine to move on even when i was a level 1 from a 0 due to the law change back early 2000, now even though im the same person i can never have the job or opportunity for any progress. I was the lan admin in the new internet as it came out that didnt monitor the activity of a certain few. I didnt even get a viewing or posession of cp charge or anything just conspiracy: all was ok but now even my parental rights are in jeopardy just because i crossed the border. How can this not be a secondary punishment to me???
The laws In Mass sound fair in relation to Florida. Having the different levels of supervision is fair, after doing your time and getting your rights back is fair maybe not a full 20 but I would do that to say the past is the past. Right now in Florida I have to register. My offense happend back in 1986, before Meghan Laws but after moving here in 2006 I was told that I was in violation for Non Registration. So now I cant vote, Turned away from several jobs, places to live and at one job even feared for my life because I was looked at a Predator instead of a sex offender for indecent exposure, adult no contact. When will Florida say enough is enough. We have a population of older folks that just have alot of time on their hands and don’t understand the laws or the individuals involved. We cant be clumbed into one “BREED”
I know we are all trying to be law abiding citizens but we know that the law is only effective if people follow it, so my question to all is this. If we really want change why don’t we take it. I don’t know the exact number of sex offenders in America, but what if we just said no. We aren’t following your rules because we are people to. We aren’t going to register, we arent going to continue to be singled out we are going to take a stand. What do you think the outcome would be? I ask because we as people have come to a point where we are too tolerant of injustice and too scared to take a stand. Freedom sometimes has to be seized. How much longer are we going to wait for an imperfect prejudice system to acknowledge our rights…we have to take them
Great idea, Ren.
Though when we do a call to action asking for people to write letters or show up, I’d LOVE for 10 people to participate.
Good luck counting on 900,000 registrants to go along with your plan.
One reason is that the societal legal environment classes SOs as “Nat Turner”. Remember what happened to him?
We all jes’ uppity field ni**ers a’thinkin’ we’uns oughta be free! How we enny diff’runt from ol’ Dred Scott, stuck there in the SCOTUS prisoner’s dock back in 1857.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. We need to form our own paramilitary. My God! There are nearly a million of us all across the nation! That oughta be enough for SOME kind of force TO MARCH on Washington, DC’s dysfunctional Congress and impress upon them a little “attitude” adjustment.
I agree about complacency. When I was in elementary school, the bully would keep beating me up as long as I didn’t fight back, or as long as I looked afraid of him. Even though we Registered Citizens appeal to the courts for change (sincere thanks, FAC), it still feels a lot like we’re just crying to Mom about the bullies, so that maybe we can get a safe ride to/from school grounds or get a school official to keep an eye out for us. I believe that courts may ultimately make registered life easier, but I don’t think the registry will ever end (people still need to harass prisoners in the virtual town square stocks). In fact, I think it’s a testing/learning ground for more types of registries and people-management and personal data collection schemes. I also believe that Registered Citizens are more well-behaved and legally compliant than other perceived ‘bad guys’. But, I’m afraid that idiots like the Books would even argue that we’re more compliant and well-behaved BECAUSE of all of the legal restrictions and potential prosecutions – so, they can say “those RSO laws must be working.” Thanks, FAC and others for fighting for all of us. Your efforts have made my life easier and a bit less stressed out.
With so many offenders in the thousands here in Florida. I’m not surprised. They will keep them from voting so they can continue passing their stupid laws.
That is why everyone one of us needs to sign the petition that is being submitted to the fl. House demanding that alk ex felons have their civil rights restored.
Yes I also shake my head reading these ridiculous proposals.
After 34 years of being on the sex registry. I think it,s time to move in a more positive direction.
What about those who have already reintegrated? 11 years after conviction I find myself doing well. Success took years of persevering & toil. Now I am a Federal Employee & Civil Servant, thanks to my Veteran status.
The registry has infinitely retarded the entire process. I didn’t give up. Everyday I strive to be a better person than the day before. Never let others’ labels define who you are.
With that said, I have faithfully served the U. S. for most of my life.
To not be able to have a voice is a big slap in my face. Marginalizing & dehumanizing of a particular group of CITIZENS is evidently a norm to Americans now. The Constitution doesn’t amount to dry dog crap anymore.
John Coble,
I would love to know how you were able to get a Federal job with a SO conviction. I served in the Navy for over 20 years and can’t even get a callback, let alone an interview or job. I have an MBA, which is useless against a background check.
Time since conviction, 2 honorable discharges, many years service, my DD214 & a USA Jobs account.
John C, thank you. I will keep trying.
Please contact me 352 978 5439, [email protected]
It’s not that hard to figure out the reasoning behind the exclusion: a growing sex offender population will eventually be a big problem for politicians who continually propose and pass laws specifically to vilify and torture sex offenders.
It will eventually change but not before more unnecessary persecution..
Thank you for the very accurate post. I only wish that I could write down my feelings as you have done. Very well said and I would like to at least acknowledge a similar thought process and just shake my head when I read most of the ignorant proposals made by our government especially here in Florida.