Ever notice the words "for the children" make you feel really guilty? Vote "yes" on a ludicrous school budget; it's for the kids. Get a dog even though daddy's allergic - it's for the kids.
I guess I'm supposed to feel good that the State of Georgia has told every registered sex offender to turn over their internet passwords, e-mail addresses and screennames.
The law that went into affect with the new year was written by State Senator Cecil Staton, who says it will "keep the internet safe for children." With sixteen thousand sex offenders in the state, I can't see how the move will do much more than tax the already over-worked cops now charged with plugging random passwords into the 'net to track people who might or might not be committing a crime.
Don't get me wrong; pedophiles deserve to be strung up by their toenails in my eyes. Touch a kid, and you're worth less than pond scum. But how does requring a sex offender to pass over the information he uses to get into his online banking account making the internet safer for kids?
With the move, Georgia becomes only the second state in the nation to require pedophiles turn over their passwords (Utah was first); although there are about fifteen that require usernames and e-mail addresses be reported. If they don't do it, they'll face probation violations and possible jailtime.
Providing usernames to the police seems feasible; it allows for a
Google Alert anytime "likessexygirls" shows up in a kids chat room. But what does a password provide? Free access to their private e-mails with family that haven't the hint of criminality, a look-see at their bank accounts when nary a crime has been committed. Sounds like the Patriot Act at work here folks, the state searching for a reason to charge someone with a crime. I think they call those witch hunts.
The law actually stretches to all sex offenders - not just those convicted of acts on children. So sickos who raped someone who is over age (and is less likely to have an interest in child porn or contacting kids) are being forced to give up their privacy "for the children."
The law also requires they turn over everything. Everything. So the state is now going to be responsible for keeping safe financial information that, if leaked, could potentially make these sixteen hundred people easy prey for identity thieves. Do they have the security measures to protect that? Do they have the money to put them in place?
Then there's this tricky thing called the Constitution. Like I said, pedophile = pondscum. But what ever happened to "I did the crime, I did the time"? The sex offender registry is in place already to protect people - kids - from sex offenders. Their addresses, pictures, type of vehicle, distinguishing characteristics - are already available. It's a price they're paying for their heinous acts. Should they now pay with their right to privacy?
Image: WRAL
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