Moonage Political Webdream

Sex offender Steven Elwell thought he had paid his debt to society. He lost his job as a teacher and served a year in prison for having sex with a 16-year-old female student.

Now, after three years on the outside, Elwell wants to move his wife and two children into a bigger home. They must find a house, though, that’s not encompassed by sex offender-free zones being established by communities across New Jersey.

Elwell, who now makes his living owning a pizzeria, doesn’t expect sympathy. But he argues the ordinances are too broad, providing a false sense of security at the expense of ex-cons already kept on a tight leash by Megan’s Law, the pioneering New Jersey sex offender registry law.

A growing number of critics agree with him.

Restricting where sex offenders can live is misdirected and may be unconstitutional, say civil liberties advocates, defense attorneys and experts in the field.

"These laws have absolutely nothing to do with the protection of children and everything to do with scare tactics, cheap political points and an anti-intellectualism that is driving public policy today," said John S. Furlong, a defense attorney who brought the first court challenge to Megan’s Law.

I expected this, so it’s not a surprise.  However, I don’t think it’s going to fly anytime soon.

You’re right, Furlong.  It has nothing to do with the protection of children.  It has everything to do with giving the parents the ability to protect their own children.  There is a difference.  But, it’s an important one.  Parents feel an obligation to protect their child.  Children on the other hand, don’t fully understand the perils that are out there.  Telling a small child that a certain adult is a pedophile means nothing to a small child  If a child gets molested without a lot of trauma, there is the chance they will for the most get over it over time.  However, that incident is even more traumatic to the parent.  The parent is the one that feels they have failed to protect their child.  It is the parent that will most likely never get over it.  It is the parent that needs to know what dangers lurk in their neighborhood.  Megan’s Law is not just about protecting children, it is about giving the parent information they need to protect their own child.  Furlong can argue his logic till hell freezes over.  But, until he undertands that very simple concept of a parent’s instinct of trying to protect their child, he’ll lose every time.  I know based on his argument he’s already lost me.

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