Member Submission: Activists Unite!
One of the most discouraging aspects of the fight against registries is the lack of allies. Civil rights movements do not succeed without the broad support of citizens and organizations. Few injustices have been made right through the sole efforts of victims.
The need to recruit powerful and committed allies against registries is a matter of urgency.
Nobody needs to be reminded of how difficult that is. It shouldn’t be. No group of Americans today suffers more legal discrimination, hardship, stigma, and marginalization than registrants. But who stands up regularly for convicted sex offenders? With the exception of a few federal defenders and other lawyers, and the small handful of groups like FAC, there is nobody.
No major civil or human rights organization has taken a firm stand against sex offender registries, residency restrictions, civil commitment, and the other injustices inflicted on registrants. No major faith-based organization; no society of scholars or jurists. No prominent group that condemns injustice on a daily basis has spoken up for the one million of their fellow citizens whose names, addresses, and photographs proliferate on electronic stockades across the internet; whose drivers licenses and passports are branded with scarlet letters; who are banned from neighborhoods, schools, businesses, churches, military bases, parks, beaches, social media, cruise ships, and airplanes. All of that and more, in many cases, for life.
Nobody has spoken up loudly against what has been called no crueler tyranny because nobody wants to be associated with the last great pariah class in America. That is obvious. What is not obvious is why the silent majority of decent, fair, and honest Americans don’t see what is staring them straight in the face. It is this: The longer you stay silent, the more likely it is that you too will be the victim of injustice.
Injustice grows like a cancer in society. Therefore registrants must do all they can to persuade civil rights activists that it is in their interest to stop this cancer from spreading.
If you think that is unrealistic, have a look at the amicus briefs in the major legal cases brought by registrants (for example, Gundy, Packingham, etc.). Look at the number of people who signed FAC’s petition to the UN. You’ll find people and organizations that took a stand on behalf of a principle even if they don’t directly speak up for registrants as human beings. It doesn’t appear that their reputations or donor bases have suffered much as a result. These rare relationships must grow.
Think about it. Are you sick and tired of hearing, “if it saves one child”? Then say instead, if I change one mind, the effort is worth it.
Are you also afraid of hearing, “how dare you compare my favorite oppressed minority with rapists and pedophiles! Those people are being punished for what they did, not for who they are”?
Then say: No. There is a criminal justice system for punishing people for what they did. Registrants are retroactively punished by a “civil” regulation for who they are. And with the same false rationale that minorities have been persecuted throughout history: to protect the vulnerable public against a mythical threat often with sexual overtones. African-Americans were lynched because they were said to “threaten the virtue” of white women. Jews were made to suffer pogroms, and were forced to live in ghettos and wear yellow stars because of the blood libel. LGBTQ people were fired from jobs because they were said to “corrupt the youth.” The list goes on. None of these historic examples are fundamentally different from what registrants experience today. It’s called collective punishment and it is as old as humanity.
Some potential allies will say, “we would like to help but if we did our organization would lose too many donors.” Tell them: “You will lose donors if you do not help because otherwise they will think you are hypocrites.”
Recruiting allies doesn’t mean asking people to go soft on crime or to condone illicit sex. That’s absurd. It’s not absurd to say this: “You may hate us and our crimes, but our cause is still your cause. Because our cause is justice and the Constitution. It’s as simple as that.”
So, please, registrants: Keep writing to members of Congress and to your state legislators. Keep writing to the media. But please also take the time to call and write to the ACLU, Human Rights Watch, American Bar Association, Amnesty International, NAACP, National Organization for Women, Human Rights Campaign, GLAAD, Council on Criminal Justice, Equal Justice Initiative, Southern Poverty Law Center, Anti-Defamation League, Urban League, LAMBDA Legal, Children’s Defense Fund, Human Rights First, Southern Baptist Convention, or to the organization of your choice. Go to their websites and write to their staff and board members. Ask them this one question:
How can you stand by when one million Americans are being subjected to the same types of discrimination and mistreatment that you stand against, and that your own members and constituents once experienced?
They may ignore you. Or they may give you a discouraging reply to the effect that they have “limited bandwith” or a “full plate.” But keep writing and keep asking. Because someday, somebody powerful will take a stand, and the dam of silence will burst.
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This is exactly why I refuse to donate to charities that are all about “stop hate against Jews, Asians and Trans.”
America only does “SAFE: compassion and empathy. Civil rights groups steer away from certain “out groups” they know will bring them backlash and outrage on social media. If society doesn’t all ALL marginalized people, then what is the point in advocacy? Oh, that’s right, in America It’s all about selective inclusion and safe virtue signaling.
All humans should fall under the “protected class” umbrella .
Even those forced to register that are victims of digital shaming.
…oh, and yes, I’ve done deep canvassing on a shoestring budget — and by shoestring, I mean no money.
…and the Points of Light Foundation training on volunteer management would differ with the concept of not being able to run an org with just volunteers.
So would MoveOn.
So would Seed The Vote.
You get it.
I’m ready.
VOCAL,
Thank you for sharing your perspective on the challenges that advocacy organizations face in fighting against registries. It’s important to recognize that these organizations often operate with limited resources and rely heavily on the support of volunteers to carry out their mission.
It’s understandable that people may feel frustrated or discouraged when they see the slow progress being made, but it’s crucial to remember that change takes time and sustained effort. Every person who steps up to the plate and gets involved in advocacy work can make a difference, no matter how small their contribution may seem. I am one of those who is stepping up.
Your point about the vast majority of registrants not being motivated to fight against registries is an interesting one. While it’s true that these laws may not have a significant impact on everyone’s daily lives, they still represent a fundamental violation of basic rights and freedoms. It’s important for all of us to stand up against injustice, even if it doesn’t directly affect us.
Thank you for your dedication to this cause, and for inspiring others to get involved and make a difference. I stand ready to work with you.
Together, we can work towards a more just and compassionate society for all.
Chuck:
We are hoping to revive VOCAL. The problem is that we are all older and don’t know anything about the internet. We are in the process of starting a blog at vocalhome.blogger.com. We hope to hear from some of the old VOCAL, NASVO and FUND people.
Correction. That’s vocalhome.blogspot.com
VOCAL (Victims of Child Abuse Laws) was the original organization 40 years ago. They had several chapters throughout the U.S. and thousands of members. What made them successful was the diversity of issues that they covered, from families having the state take their kids to false allegations of child abuse.
Even though they preceded the registry, they were the only organization that supported “sex offenders”.
I talked to Roger Bresnan a couple of years ago. He was the San Diego president of VOCAL for almost 20 years and a legend in VOCAL. He said VOCAL disbanded because you can’t run an organization with volunteers. An organization needs paid staff to survive. Every time some one suggested a project, Roger would pull together a group of volunteers and few would live up to their promises. If the project was completed, it was only because Roger Bresnan completed the project. Roger said what burned him out was everyone coming up with ideas that they failed to follow through on. He was tired of finishing every one else’s projects. This was a shame because Roger was a good leader and developed the San Diego VOCAL into a very solid organization.
I see NARSOL, WAR, FAC and all of these other organizations going the same route. Everyone is excited when the organization is formed. A good group can keep the project going for 10 or 20 years, but the organization becomes defunct as people burn out. Look at all of the people who have left ACSOL and FAC and neither organization is even 10 years old. VOCAL has been reduced to a few dozen people in the U.S. VOCAL actually remains as an organization in many countries, but not in the U.S. There hasn’t been an active chapter in the U.S. for at least 10 years.
There is no money in defending “sex offenders”. It’s only a matter of time that people here realize that.
‘Look at all the people who have left ACSOL and FAC’ not sure this is correct, if anything FAC’s numbers have gone up not down but I’ll defer to Membership to fact-check that assertion.
Wrt ACSOL, in their state ACSOL has successfully defeated residency laws, defeated presence laws, defeated Halloween laws, created a registry off-ramp, and successfully obtained an injunction against Federal registry regulations. What do you mean people have left?
Regards,
Jacob
‘You can’t run an organization with volunteers’ unless donors are willing to fund paid staff, what do you suggest? I think our volunteers do a great job!
Appreciate the account of VOCAL, I never knew about them
Jacob:
VOCAL has been around a lot longer than the internet and sex offender registries with the exception of California’s registry. VOCAL was the only organization that “sex offenders” could turn to for support 40 years ago. We saw a lot of people through their charges, supported them in jail and prison and provided housing to them after their release.
Most registrants under 40 probably have never heard of VOCAL. This may be why you are unaware of their existence. They have always had “sex offender” supporters because every organization shunned “sex offenders” back in the 80’s.
Membership was strong in the 80’s but declined in the 90’s and into this century. However, a small hardcore group is hanging on. Unfortunately, everyone is getting older so unless fresh blood steps up, VOCAL in the U.S. is probably down to it’s last decade or so of existence.
The membership of FAC has grown, but some core members have left or are no longer as active, i.e., Chance Oberstein’s departure from ACSOL, and as the FAC founder noted below, even she burned out. And this getting burned out was what I was referring to in my post because I have seen so much of it.
VOCAL didn’t have the advantage of the internet. Hopefully, the internet gives these newer organizations staying power.
Getting the word out was VOCAL’s biggest challenge. Advertising is expensive. We always had people charged with sex crimes wander into our meetings and we provided them with what help we could. But we could never reach a broad audience. The internet changes all of that.
What happens to volunteers is that they get burned out as mentioned by equaljustice who founded FAC. VOCAL volunteers have all gone through the same thing. We were all housing people, helping with legal research, fighting county jails to allow our law books and legal research in, taking expensive phone calls from prison and jail. For most of us, this simply became to much.
Yesterday we saw another example of how false the expression “ if it saves one child it’s worth it” is.
From early reports three children plus adults were gunned down again at a school. Automatic fire arms were again used. Biden again spoke out against them but can’t get support. I’m not taking any side on this just making a statement.
If the above quote were true something would have been done years ago. How many laws have been added to those on the sex offense registry since the first school shooting ? How many young lives have been snuffed out by those on the registry? Is there even one?
The point is that quote does in no way apply to the registry. It would apply to doing something to stop these shootings but then someone would have to give up a freedom. Laws are fine as long as it costs someone else something but not me. That’s how our political system works.
An example is , slavery is ok as long as I’m not the slave. Higher taxes are alright as long as I’m not the one to pay them. A sex offender should be punished forever because I’m not one. The registry doesn’t stop any crimes but do it anyway because I’m not one.
Great member submission. Spot on.
Well said
You can add to the things we’re sick of hearing, from prosecutors, the lie “ This is necessary because of the frightening high recidivism rate. “.