The legislation would have let shelter officials deny entrance for convicted sex offenders for however long was “necessary to ensure the safety of other individuals”. In a statement, the governor said that: “The underlying bill would have had significant and unacceptable public safety consequences.”
https://wjla.com/news/local/gov-northam-vetoes-bill-sex-offenders-in-shelters
Sent this to the VA governor today to speak on behalf of VA registrants:
As someone required to register, I know I speak for many in your state when I say I appreciated your vote for humane treatment of all citizens in your state.
A contemporary authority on human rights wisely observed this:
“It is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones.”
Your vote to preserve the dignity of our lowest citizens is in keeping with the spirit of the high ideals of basic human rights, enshrined in our founding documents with the belief that all persons are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights. I have the utmost of respect for your willingness to take a stand for those who have no political voice, but who are nevertheless intently observing how they are treated by our system of government.
Your use of person-first language in your veto statement also shows you see persons on the registry as individuals and not merely the embodiment of an offense. No one wants to be forever defined by their worst moments and we are no exception. The vast majority of us want to move beyond our failures, just like everyone else, and if given the tools and opportunities to succeed, we will jump at the chance and won’t look back.
Thank you again, on behalf of the thousands of families in your state with loved ones on the registry.
Sincerely,
[name withheld]
More of us should be sending letters like these! Thank you for doing this.
So nicely said. Glad you sent it and glad you shared it.
James, great letter! We need more to speak out like this. We cannot cower into a corner and expect to be victors. Lack of education on the part of our society in connection with RSO’s is amazing. Truth be known, most of our society has probably committed some sort of sex offense during a lifetime. ‘Sex addiction’ is wired into our being and can only be overcome with help from God in our appeal to be in His will. Counselling is just man’s attempt to take God’s place. Sounds good, but only on the surface. I am a widower without female companionship. I pray every morning that I may spend the day in God’s will and I know that his will is ‘no sex outside of marriage’ and I am comfortable with that. He seems to fill my days with more than enough to keep me busy and on the right path in life. I find happiness in treating women as ladies as I try to be a gentleman. My wife was in the Navy for 20 years so I understand such a way of life.
It sickens me to see how the Floriduh legislature is so concerned about illegals that it debates for hours on how they are treated like second class citizens. They want to ensure the illegals have a safe place to stay and their due process and dignity are respected. Yet, the legislature $hits on us every session. I guess that makes us third class citizens.
In my job managing HOA’s/Condo’s the application process for a US resident is usually strict with back ground checks and credit score. Many people now buy who are not residents of the US and come from countries that don’t even have credit scores and/or background check system. What do they do …..approve them based on little information. But if you are a US citizen with all this and are one point under the approved credit score….no home for you. It is disgusting. So same theory applies with people entering illegally. We can’t check them so…eh…but you….well…. we can and we gonna. It is discrimination, against a US citizen.
I trust the builder of my home. If we have a hurricane I will shelter in my home, as I would feel safer there than in some government run shelter. (I have comfortably survived 10 or so hurricanes in it since 2004.) The sad thing, though, is that many do not have that option. With the drug problem this state and nation has, I would think that drug dealers would be excluded before sex offenders. But no, drug dealers are welcomed and the least likely to reoffend are excluded. It makes absolutely no sense. I suppose RSO’s are to drop their families off at a shelter and then they are to go out and survive the elements.
Just a thought captain but you could always open your home as a shelter during the next hurricane!
MJ, great idea except I live within 1000 feet of our HOA tot lot and anyone who stayed here would be in violation of Brevard County Ordinance 2006-31 and subject to probation violation and arrest. Very frustrating, as I would welcome the company during a hurricane. I am always open to help others as I can and the ‘law’ permits.
How can the Virginia governor be so pro-life one day and so anti pro-life the next?
Quote from Attorney General Barr during the Committee Hearing yesterday…”We have to stop using the criminal justice system as a political weapon!”
Nice to see an elected official with a conscience. It took a man dying in Michigan a few years ago because of such shelter restrictions before they worked to ensure that there would be emergency shelter somewhere for registered offenders during life-threatening situations. https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2009/01/death_of_sex_homeless_offender.html
The courts had to step in to intervene in the state’s heartlessness:
https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2011/12/judge_rules_sex_offenders_can.html
Virginia’s Governor should be applauded.
Once again a state other than Florida has some common sense. VA wants to help RCs get shelter, FL wants to ban them from hotels.
MJ. Yes the hotel bill is crazy bad. I thi k it goes by county as far as shelters go 2017 pasco sheriff allowed rso into wiregrass but they were segregated out and guarded but allowed in none the less. Not sticking up for Florida but just pointing out the good decisions a rose amongst the thornes if you will.