TX: Area towns among dozens threatened with sex offender ordinance suits

Three area towns are among 46 small Texas cities facing the threat of a lawsuit from a criminal justice advocacy group for the way they regulate where sex offenders can live.

Texas Voices for Reason and Justice includes Whitney, Hubbard and West in its legal challenge of local ordinances.

The group is asking each city to repeal ordinances restricting where sex offenders live.

“We are an advocate for successful re-entry and the problem we are facing in recent years is there are less and less places for people who are required to register can live,” said Executive Director Mary Sue Molnar.

The group cites an opinion by then Attorney General Greg Abbot in 2007 clarifying what rights general-law cities have.

The 46 towns all have populations of 5,000 or fewer and are considered general law cities.

Abbott’s opinion said general law cities cannot enact local ordinances that regulate where registered sex offenders can live.

This group is making sure that is enforced.

“We advocated for common sense, balanced restrictions that are actually based on research and statistics not based on fear,” Molnar said.

Hubbard and Whitney have already repealed their ordinances, and the West City Council will decide whether to repeal West’s ordinance or go to court at its next meeting on Feb. 2.

“It’s a tough call,” West Mayor Tommy Muska said.

“We’re going to have to go to court but I have to look at the safety. If it was up to me I would say don’t do it.”

While saying that “no sexual abuse is ever acceptable,” the group says sex offense laws and policies should be based on sound research and common sense and that “public sex offender registry and residency restriction laws do not protect children, but instead ostracize and dehumanize entire families.”

 

SOURCE