Sex Offender Driver's Licenses

[deinstein]

Sex Offender Driver's Licenses
AP - 3/5/2007 12:25 PM - Updated 3/5/2007 12:26 PM

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- A bill to require that sex offenders be identified on their driver licenses passed the Oklahoma Senate on Monday.

The bill now goes to the state House for consideration.

Sen. Brian Crain, R-Tulsa, said drivers who make deliveries to schools and nursing homes aren't required to have background checks.

"This legislation will give the public greater protection by helping businesses identify workers who shouldn't be around children or other vulnerable individuals," Brian Crain said.

[deinstein]

This is stupid.

1. They've already served their time.

2. So, if I piss in a bush at a concert...get a ticket. I now have to let everyone know I'm in the same category as a rapist on my license?

Such bonehead thinking and typical of Oklahoma.

[Steve]

Agreed. Leave it to the Oklahoma Legislature to do something like that. They are just pandering to public fear and hysteria.

Why stop there? Require sex offenders to wear a great big scarlet "S" all over their clothing too. I wouldn't put it past the state Legislature. What's even sadder is that if put to a public vote, it would probably pass.

[Porky]

Sure something how they can come up with all these BS laws and can't get the 3 level sex offender scale done.

[MichaelC]

"Sex offenders" are just an easy political target.  Nobody is terribly fond of "sex offenders" as a whole.  If you're a politician, you have nothing to lose by targeting them.  And it just might help you get re-elected.  It's just one item of a long historical string of targetted "politically valuable" strikes against people who can't really defend themselves.

[cannon_fodder]

Great point Porky... by looking at the sex offender registry or perhaps their license, you know the person is a 'sex offender.'  That doesn't tell you if they got arrested peeing behind a bar at 2am, having sex with their girlfriend in their car, skinny dipping in a public lake, streaking, or luring children in and raping them.

It kind of makes a difference to me.

[tulsa1603]

With all these laws, I'm starting to feel sorry for sex offenders.  Well, maybe not sorry, but I agree with Steve - at what point can you say "Enough is enough!"  You really can't.  I mean, anyone who votes against this bill would become a target in the next election "She voted for sex offenders!"

As far as the scarlet "S" goes, I remember something about making them have special license plates once, too, which is about as close as you can get.

[billintulsa]

I used to fall for the public fear of "sexual offenders" (at least as defined by current law), but the experience of a friend of mine has made me think twice about that.

This guy went through a particularly, nasty divorce.  The family unit included my friend, his wife and two step-daughters.  When the wife found out she wasn't getting everything she wanted in the settlement, she played the "rape card," and persuaded one of her daughters to come up with a false story - which she later re-canted of her own accord.  Even thought she later confessed that she had made the whole thing up, the DA still went through with the charges.  The guy in question spent some time in jail, and is now a registered sex offender.  All it took was a claim.  No proof.  No evidence, and even the claim was later admitted to be false.

If this legislation is passed then this guy, and others in a similar case, will be forced to join the ranks of the real criminals.

Somehow, it doesn't seem fair.

[grahambino]

I think everyone is guilty until proven innocent.
Im going to launch my campaign for state senate next year.

[Conan71]

quote:Originally posted by deinstein

This is stupid.

1. They've already served their time.

2. So, if I piss in a bush at a concert...get a ticket. I now have to let everyone know I'm in the same category as a rapist on my license?

Such bonehead thinking and typical of Oklahoma.

Hey, the laws have been incentive for me.  I sure as hell haven't pissed on a dumpster in  years. []