Sunday, January 31, 2016

International Megan's Law Vote Scheduled for Monday

A vote is scheduled this Monday, February 1, at 6:30 p.m. EST on HR 515, the International Megan's Law. Contact your Congressman to voice your concerns about this bill.

Organize Justice has information here.

Click here to find your Congressman's contact information.







Friday, January 29, 2016

Are we all Sex Offenders?

That is the question Galen Baughman asks in this TEDx lecture, given to a college audience in New York last November.

Baughman spent nine years in a Virginia prison, for having consensual sex with his 14-year-old boyfriend when he was 19 years old. He won his freedom in a historic civil commitment trial.

Watch the talk here...and share it with your friends and family.

Thursday, January 28, 2016

Supreme Court Hears Custody Case Involving Registered Sex Offender

The Nebraska Supreme Court will have the final say in a custody dispute involving a registered sex offender.

The Omaha World-Herald reports the story.

Backstory first: A mother with custody of two young girls marries a man convicted of sexually assaulting a former stepdaughter. The father of the two girls asks the court to give him the kids and remove his children from what he calls a high-risk environment. State law says a parent who lives with a sex offender convicted of assaulting a minor shall not be granted custody, unless the court finds there is “no significant risk to the child.” Both the trial judge and the Nebraska Court of Appeals ruled in the mother’s favor and left the girls in the home, ultimately finding the girls were not at significant risk.
Read the rest of the report here.




The Marshall Project Examines Civil Commitment

Civil commitment, the practice of keeping people considered "sexually violent predators" confined after they have served their sentences, has come under increased judicial scrutiny recently. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled civil commitment legal in a 1997 decision, Kansas v. Hendricks

The idea is that people will receive treatment before they are released. However, many people spend years, even decades, languishing in civil commitment programs, with little hope of being released.

This report from the Marshall Project looks at how civil commitment works - or doesn't - in New Jersey.

Saturday, January 23, 2016

ACTION ALERT! House Vote Scheduled on International Megan's Law!

A vote is scheduled in the U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday on International Megan's Law. This has already passed the Senate.
More information from National RSOL.

ACTION ALERT!
Contact YOUR national HOUSE representatives TODAY via email, and then CALL their office again on Monday. Here is a link to locate YOUR representative: http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/
Be sure to identify yourself as their constituent.
Do NOT muddy this short message with personal stories or complaints about the entire bill. If they ASK for more info, you can find and share our talking points at http://nationalrsol.org/…/Position-Paper-International-Mega….
The MESSAGE:
Stop HR 515 from consideration on the floor of the House of Representatives on Tuesday! It contains a Senate amendment that is both substantive and historic. That is, for the first time in our nation's history, a "unique identifier" will be added to the passports of U.S. citizens. The substance of this Senate amendment to HR 515 needs to be discussed and debated in the House of Representatives, and in order for that to happen it MUST be referred back to the House Foreign Affairs Committee prior to a vote.




Friday, January 22, 2016

Utah Legislature Considers Changes to Sex Offender Registry

A Utah state legislator has proposed a bill that would allow some registered citizens to have their names removed from the sex offender registry sooner than under current law.

Rep. Jack Draxler's bill would allow those convicted of certain misdemeanors to ask to be removed from the registry after five years.

Read about it here.

Perhaps this will spur discussion about whether those who are not a threat to society - or anyone - should be on a public registry.

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Washington Post Condemns International Megan's Law

David Post, writing online for the Washington Post, condemns the proposed international Megan's law on grounds that should be clear to anyone who is even vaguely familiar with U.S. principles. Here's a cogent quote:
It is fundamental to our notions of a free society that we do not punish people because we fear that they might commit a crime in the future
Read the Post article.

Monday, January 18, 2016

A Wise Voice in South Dakota

A sensible view from our neighbors to the north in South Dakota:

Registry does more harm than good

Be FEARLESS Tonight

FEARLESS -- the connection place for Registered Citizens and their friends and loved ones -- meets tonight, Monday, January 18, at Saint Michael Lutheran Church, 13232 Blondo Street, Omaha. The meeting gets under way at 7 p.m. Park in the east lot and come in through the east entrance. We might talk about how sanity prevailed and residency restrictions failed to get traction in Falls City.

Sunday, January 10, 2016

Wade Into Life With Us at FEARLESS


FEARLESS meets on Monday, January 18, at 7 p.m. at Omaha's Saint Michael Lutheran Church, 13232 Blondo Street. FEARLESS is for Registered Citizens and their friends and loved ones. It is a place where we gather to support one another without judgment or shame.

Thursday, January 7, 2016

Looking for Good Tenants? We Can Refer Them

Nebraskans Unafraid can refer good tenants to landlords who are interested in renting to responsible people who always pay their rent and take good care of their homes.

If you manage rental housing and you would like to be on our list for renter referrals, contact us at nunafrd@gmail.com or by calling 402 403-9250.

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Despite LB 285 of 2009, Rape Reaches Historic High Levels in Nebraska

Rape in Lincoln is at its highest level in 25 years, and rape in Nebraska is on the rise in spite of the state's harsh sex-offender law enacted in 2009.

If the law -- LB 285 of 2009 -- worked as it was advertised, we would not have this tragic and growing list of victims.

LB 285 tossed every former offender on a public-shaming website and eliminated risk assessments.

LB 285, Nebraska's version of the perverted and discredited federal Adam Walsh Act, was sold to lawmakers and the public as the perfect public-safety tool. But let's be plain and honest: The true intent of LB 285 was to help get then-State Attorney General Jon Bruning elected to the U.S. Senate.

It failed, even in that. Now, it is clear, it fails as a public safety tool.

It is time to roll back this harmful useless law.


Sanity Prevails in Falls City

Sanity prevails as the City Council in Falls City, Nebraska, decides against drafting a residency restriction ordinance.

The action came Monday, January 4, 2016 during the regular Council meeting.

The Mayor of Falls City and Council members all had access to information showing that residency restrictions do nothing to protect a community and in fact make things more dangerous by destabilizing the lives of law-abiding Registered Citizens.