The Dobbs Wire: Remembering Thomas Pauli in January—the month he died.
Winter weather brought Thomas Pauli’s death but the real cause was draconian laws that often drive people into poverty, homelessness and hopelessness. Thomas had a serious scrape with the law many years back and paid a price, serving 11 years in prison. All that might have moved to the rear view mirror but this was a sex offense. Special laws apply so he was put on the sex offense registry and faced severe restrictions on where he could live or even get temporary refuge from winter’s wrath. Thomas’s death did bring some slight changes to the laws. However, Michigan’s registry is still going strong despite many years of hard fought lawsuits. Registries do not improve public safety – that’s what the accumulated evidence tells us. Registries do not reduce re-offense, that’s also known from the evidence. Registries cost considerable taxpayer dollars. For those who have already done their time, registries are even more punishment, making re-entering community and moving on with one’s life extremely difficult. From all that’s known, registries are a type of punishment that should not exist. Yes – registries can and should be dismantled. That will take sustained, smart campaigning. Meanwhile, we can rethink what’s needed to reckon with sexual violence and make a safer world. Tom Rademacher wrote a great column for The Grand Rapids Press about Thomas Pauli’s life, death, and more–have a look!
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Bill Dobbs, The Dobbs Wire
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I sent an email to ALL the lawmakers shown in previous readings, and guess what?…..not one, not one single representative, senator, lawmaker or whatever, didn’t even acknowledge my message. And I did so in a very respectful way describing why I was opposing supporting the bill…..that tells me that we are screwed. Big….times…screwed.
I live a very quiet life, I don’t mess with anyone, matter fact, I don’t even know my neighbors’s name! And I own my house, with my wife along with my stepdaughters and my dogs with a water canal behind me and I’ll be damn, very damn if they ever come to get me out of my house…probably my name will be headlining Orlando Breaking Flash News….
We can’t expect replies. The emails are counted.
Yea, I’ve sent emails in the past on different topics and didn’t get a reply neither but that doesn’t mean they didn’t receive them.
I’ve never received replies either. I think it’s pretty standard. Thank you for sending it out because it matters!
There are many on the registry who are one step closer to homelessness. When I was first put on the registry, believably, it was very easy back then to find a job. Today not so much. More and more companies claim we are a liability, and even when a boss gives you a chance, once a customer or even an employee raises concerns, threatening that if you do not fire them, me and all my co-workers will resign. (Who do you think will leave?)
That scenario happened to me when after several years of working at a well-known business, some employees contacted HR. Not that I did anything wrong to anyone at work, but my presence there was always on their minds, and it was only a matter of time I would slip up and attack a customer or an employee. With no hard facts of me doing anything, it was settled and I was told to either resign or be fired.
I did hire an attorney at the time and was given a small settlement, which mostly was eaten up by attorney fees. After that I worked a few labor jobs here and there until I became unable to work.
This crap has got to end. I’ve been at the same job now for 7 years doing hotel maintenance, working directly for the owner. I pray this new bill doesn’t pass because there goes my job since the hotels I work at have pools. I own a home, a wife and 2 kids. If I lose my job because of this, I’m suing the **** out of Florida i don’t care
No End, I feel our state senators need to hear from you on this. Not just from you, but also from the hotel owner.
Because, in my view, the owner should have the right to hire whomever they want. Senators who vote in favor of this bill are impacting the owner’s ability to do business.
And you have done this job continuously for years with probably like zero complaints from guests.
And if we can keep this bill off the governor’s desk as drafted, you won’t have to sue at all!
Yes sir they will. As a matter of fact I’m off work the next 2 days. My plan is to sit at my computer and send out tons of emails.
No end
They want us to be productive and not a strain on society, then turn around and deny us basic rights, places we can work, be at, or in some instances that FAC posted, people might not even be able to pass by a school. Without anyone really saying it, their goal is to make rules and requirements so hard to achieve that we end up being violated (Whatever that means).
Some inmates think prison is a piece of cake, well I do not want any more of that cake as it went stale and they can keep it. One piece of cake was enough for me to get my *hit together.
The draft bill does not prohibit passing by.