As a mother of three, two of which are girls, I find myself checking the Watchdog website on occasion to check for any sex offenders who might happen to have moved to my neighborhood. This site is important to me, since there are no laws in New Hampshire (where I reside) stating that citizens must be warned when sex offenders move into town. It stands to reason that some sex offenders should wear GPS tracking bracelets at all times.
However, some crimes that label a person a “sex offender” are somewhat ridiculous. If, for example, an 18-year old is involved in a sexual relationship with his 16-year old girlfriend, it doesn’t matter whether or not both parties consent once the law becomes involved.
Angry parents can easily have an older boyfriend arrested for having sex with a minor. In most cases, a judge has no choice but to arrest the older boyfriend. This arrest will remain on a person’s record for the rest of his life, which, in turn, will force him to register as a convicted sex offender whenever he moves to another town.
This is precisely why Toronto’s Tim Hudak (Progressive Conservative Leader) must rethink his proposed law that forces all sex offenders (roughly 14,000 citizens) to wear GPS tracking bracelets. Further, Hudak wants to open the sex offender registry list to all citizens.
As stated, I do believe that some sex offenders should be tracked. However, it seems unlikely that the 14,000 people on Hudak’s list are dangerous and serious sex offenders. Many of these people are attempting to move on with their lives – something that a GPS tracking device would prevent.
Logically, there is no sense in punishing all sexual offenses. A better alternative to Hudak’s proposal would be to identify those people who are a danger to society and need to be tracked. Otherwise, this proposed law will result in a waste of money and time — not to mention the further humiliation that some convicted sex offenders must endure.
Article Written by Khristen Foss
