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Sex Offender Law Goes Into Effect Tomorrow

By Kleinheider Posted on June 30, 2009 at 1:47 pm

From Cara Kumari:

Last year the state Legislature passed a law keeping convicted sex offenders 500 feet away from schools. The law came about after police noticed sex offenders hanging out near school property and staring at the children.

This year they expanded that measure to 1,000 feet. Starting Wednesday it will include daycares, playgrounds, recreation centers and athletic fields.

“There are so many kids in this country and in this state that are harmed by sick wackos. Anytime we can protect them and go on to lead a productive life without psychological harm or physical harm, we should do it,” said Rep. Ryan Haynes, a Republican from Knoxville.

This law only applies when children are present, and a sex offender must be deliberately hanging out in the area.

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Comments

7 Responses to “Sex Offender Law Goes Into Effect Tomorrow”

  1. Kat Coble writes
    June 30th, 2009 2:09 pm

    Because it’s soooo much easier to carpet the world with laws than it is to educate your children about the danger of molestation.

    Sheesh.

    I wonder when we’ll start making sex offenders wear identifying labels and outlaw them from sitting on park benches.

  2. Tom Paine writes
    June 30th, 2009 3:00 pm

    Can somebody please ask Cara Kumari to cite examples in which law enforcement has spotted convicted sex offenders hanging out around school yards “eyeing little girls with bad intent..” (Aqualung, anyone?)

    Most editors worth a damn wouldn’t let a reporter get away with a blind generalization like that. I get the sense that this legislation is a solution that has gone in search of a problem.

  3. Wintermute writes
    June 30th, 2009 3:06 pm

    Tennessee: home to bipartisan nanny-state fascism.

    All you need is strict enough laws, and nothing bad will ever happen!

  4. kosh iii writes
    July 1st, 2009 8:51 am

    How about a Registry for other crooks? Where is the registry for Martha Stewart? Scrooshy? Ruth Maddoff?

    Is there a law keeping former embezzlers from being employed in a business that has money?

    Don’t get me wrong, kiddie rape is bad, but Enron was far far worse but only got a slap on the wrist.

    Heck if child rape produced stock dividends, it would probably be mandatory. /sarcasm/

  5. Teresa writes
    July 23rd, 2009 9:24 am

    Ok, all of you are horrible to undermine the tragedy of child molestation, solicitation, etc. kosh iii, if I weren’t reading it right in front of me, I’d say that I couldn’t believe that you said that what occurred at Enron was far worse than the rape of a child. As far as I’m concerned you can’t have too many laws when it comes to sexual offenders. One can educate their children all they want Kat Coble, but that does not protect kids from adults that kidnap them. Yes, educate your children, and yes put as many laws on sex offenders as there can possibly be. I wish there were a registry for every single crime. I think being educated is being able to have all the information. As far as blind generalization goes..Tom Pain… tell me what generalization you would make if you knew a sex offender had been staring at your child. It’s natural to assume to worst and honestly I think with a situation like this, it almost has to be done to protect children.

  6. carmen cotterman writes
    August 1st, 2009 5:54 pm

    I THINK THAT SEX OFFENDERS SHOULD BE PUNISHED , BUT NOT ALL
    CRIMES SHOULD BE PUNISHED FOREVER ,, THERE SHOULD BE A LIMIT ON
    THE GOVERNMENTS LAWS , THERE ARE LOTS OF PEOPLE OUT THERE THAT
    ARE GETTING THE BAD END OF THE STICK FROM THESE LAWS ,THAT ARE
    NOT SEX OFFENDERS JUST HAPPEN TO TAKE A BAD PLEA TO GET OUT OF
    A SITUATION, EVERYBODY MAKES MISTAKES IN SOME WAY ,, WE DONT
    PUT THEM ON A REGISTRY FOR EVER.

  7. jen writes
    August 1st, 2009 6:21 pm

    I doubt these laws will protect anyone but I do wonder how they get around the right to free association. Do these laws only apply to those on probation/parole? As to registration, I think we’ve gone way too far. A person who commits statutory rape when he’s 19 and his girlfriend is 16, or what have you, shouldn’t be in the same category as an actual pedophile nor should a peeping Tom, a groper or a host of other ’sex offenders.’ Quite frankly, I think we’ve made the registries useless by cluttering them up with offenders from such a broad category.

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