Ohio Wants to Use Special License Plates for Sex Offenders
The House Bill 217 would create the sex offender license plate. The states were all sex offenders required to register their address with the county sheriff will also require the sex offenders to display the special license plate on any vehicle that they drive.
An Internet petition written by Sandra Hite has already received over 2,700 signatures in support of this action. The petition asks state legislators to consider the license plate idea as a way to protect children from habitual sex offenders.
House Bill 217 would make it a first degree misdemeanor to violate the license plate law. A sex offender caught behind the wheel without the assigned plates could receive up to 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. Any attempt at trying to conceal the color of the plates is also a crime, which is punishable by a fine of up to $150.
A sex offender will have the right to petition the court after five years with the license plate to have it removed. The local court will have the option to deny the petition without a hearing if it chooses to.
In a statement state Democratic Rep. Michael DeBose had said, "The fluorescent-green license plate will make the most egregious sex offenders easily identifiable."
"It will give Ohio families a great peace of mind knowing that their children will be able to recognize where this danger exists," Summit County Sheriff Drew Alexander said.
There are opponents that oppose the bill that are arguing that the use of the special license plate will stigmatize everyone who shared the offender's car-including their spouse or children.
David Singleton, executive director of the Prison Reform Advocacy Center is one who is opposed to this new bill. Singleton also believes that the law would encompass many offenders whose crimes had nothing to do with using a vehicle to pick up children and who have little risk of re-offending.
"I think it's an utterly absurd political gimmick that will not do anything to protect the community. It will unnecessarily stigmatize people who have committed sex offenses that make it more difficult for them to get on their feet and be productive law abiding members of the community."
House Bill 217 has yet to be voted on by the state house or senate.
Sources:
Reuters:
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyid=2007-02-28T182327Z_01_N28458947_RTRUKOC_0_US-USA-CRIME-SEX-PLATES.xml
Mount Vernon News:
http://www.mountvernonnews.com/local/072005/plates.html
Published by Antoinette McGowan
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- House Bill 217 has yet to be voted on by the state house or senate.
5 Comments
Post a CommentI dont care if your children dies from a drunk , I dont care if yours get cancer,,or a nuke falls in your yard. Why should I ????
Way more then that should be done they should not even be aloud to get out of jail. just think you taxes going to something good paying to keep trash in jail. :)
Well i am 22 years of age now with three beautiful kids but there is some things that have been in my way since i have found the love of my life. He has to register as a sex offender. We met when i was 15 i met him in a bar. He was 28 but we didnt learn eachothers ages until after about two weeks of hanging out together. Now what i dont think was fair is we wanted to be together and have been together everysince this incodent. Now he has been registering for 6 and a half years well we were looking to buy a house, and we cant cause its to close to a school. Which is unfair because he would kill someone if he ever found out they touched a kid so he is not that type of person.
As for the PLATES on the cars no that would not be a good idea. The thought of people getting your child will always be there but that is something that you have to watch for. The parents could do more to ensure the safety of their kids, Be at the bus stop to pick them up, make sure they have kids that live in t
This is a touchy proposition. It is true that our society views sex offenders worse than murderers. At first glance, my reaction is, yes habitual offenders should be required to display specialized plates. Then I think, what will this really accomplish? Will it keep current offenders from reoffending? Perhaps not. I can recall, when I was around nine years old, being approached by a man on a bicycle at a school playground. This man pulled out his genitals and told me to put it in his mouth. Of course, I ran like hell back to my grandparents house but I never told them because I was afraid and confused about what had happened. The point is, if there is a will, there is a way. Offenders don't need cars to hurt children. A downside of the plates would be that it could instill a false sense of security for parents and children. If I teach my daughter to stay away from people with green plates, then how will she react when confronted by someone who doesn't have them? In addition to this, mo
I think its a good idea for them to have certain tags this would point out to children what vehicles to stay away from..me personally as a mother i think its a GREAT idea then i could point out to my son and my neices who to stay away from. As for them being law abiding citizens they should have thought about bein labeled as a sex offender before they did what they did..The ones who raped and molested children, do u think those children asked to have that happen to them?.. No i dont so before u go defeneding men and women who took the security away from those children who will always have that memory, and will always be affraid..