Weekly Update #30
Dear Members and Advocates,
Hope everyone had a nice long weekend. It’s time to get back to work!
Memorial Day is the day we remember and honor the people who died while serving the United States. Every loss is a tragedy. Losing someone who fought for the freedom of others is worth commemorating.
It is with sadness that we share the news of the passing of one of our main commenters on the FAC site, Sean. Sean had been active on our site for years. When he first started commenting, he was angry as most of us are. The laws that govern our lives are ridiculous and ineffective. If these restrictions had any correlation to public safety it would be easier to accept, but they don’t. From the beginning, his posts were filled with complaints and vented frustration. We had to moderate out so many of his posts that we actually asked him to stop posting anything at one point. As time went on, Sean learned to turn his anger into advocacy and as a result of refocusing that energy, he became a productive advocate.
The following is an excerpt from one of his recent posts. “I had MANY posts deleted. To the point that I got 2 phone calls and one e-mail asking me not to post anymore. I lost focus on what this site was for and all I was doing was b!tch!ing, P!$$’in & moaning for all the wrong reasons. I took 2 weeks off, went back and started to read the archives. It brought me back to reality about what this site was really about.” Yes, FAC can be a place to commiserate and share, but more importantly FAC is a place to strategize and mobilize.
Long weekends are an opportunity to refocus and recharge. We have some important events coming up; the NARSOL Conference next week, the ACSOL Conference a couple of weeks after, and the SMART Conference in July. NARSOL and ACSOL is where we will be going to strategize and mobilize on a national level. In the case of the SMART Conference (which is the National Symposium on Sex Offender Management and Accountability – attended by Registry personnel, Corrections/detention, Judges, Prosecutors, Law enforcement, Probation/parole/community corrections, Victim services, Community-based/nonprofit organizations) we will be treading into unfriendly territory and facing a LOT of opposition. We’re not afraid. We want to show up in a big way so they see that someone is there to speak out against the registry.
We can really use your support this month to cover the costs of attending these conferences and printed collateral we intend to distribute. Please consider making a donation in Sean’s memory.
I leave you with an excerpt he posted on February 18th of this year:
“To FAC (and all on here at this site),
I have to explain something that most of you already know. I have Stage 4 COPD and am dying.
I do NOT want your pity (prayers are helpful tho)…..
I have nothing else to do all day long except to read thru the posts on FAC…
MUCH LOVE TO ALL ON HERE— ALL I WANT IS, THE SAME AS YOU — TO BE OFF THE REGISTRY.”
Sadly, Sean wasn’t able to recognize his dream during his lifetime, but in his honor, let’s continue the mission.
Sincerely,
The Florida Action Committee
SOME HEADLINES FROM THE WEEK
Amendment 4 won’t significantly reduce clemency caseload.
After Amendment 4 passed, which restored voting rights to ex-felons who have completed their sentences (other than those convicted of murder or a sex offense), you would think that the backlog of cases waiting to be reviewed by the Florida Clemency Commission would be…
The YMCA bans persons required to register as sex offenders, but how has that worked out for them?
The Fulton County YMCA, in Johnstown, New York was just hit with a $10,000,000.00 lawsuit. A 19 year old former employee was charged with raping an underage girl in the locker room In Wichita, Kansas a 31 year old former employee allegedly sexually assaulted three…
Florida doubles payout to Lauren’s Kids
In the waning days of the most recent Florida legislative session, it appeared the nonprofit agency founded and run by Plantation State Sen. Lauren Book would walk away with only half-a-million dollars in taxpayer funding after consecutive years of receiving…
Should the State Preempt Municipal Sex Offender Ordinances?
One of the most common questions we get concern residency restrictions. Since Miami Beach passed a municipal ordinance 15 years ago, restricting where persons required to register as sex offenders can live through sex offender residency restrictions (SORRs) have…
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