Is That A Registered Sex Offender You're Driving Around With Or Just Daddy?

In a recent Tribune Viewpoint, Senator Abel Maldanado tried to defend his proposed legislation to make convicted Sex Offenders attach a license place to their car identifying them as convicted Sex Offender. The original proposal stirred up a lot of letters-to-the editor. My first reaction to the proposed law was laughter. I thought it was some kind of satirical joke.

That was followed by, "Uh, Whaaaaa?" when I realized Senator Maldonado was serious.

Years ago, when you could go to the Sheriff's office and look up paroled sex offenders on the computer screen, I did so and asked, "So, that's where so and so is living?" "Uh, no," said the officer, "That's just the last known address. This thing doesn't get updated too often, so we actually often don't know where any of these guys are actually living at any given moment."

I didn't then ask, "So what's the POINT of this swell computer information if parents are getting out-of-date info and don't know it and so are living in a fool's paradise thinking they've got threats to their kids pegged, when, in reality, the guy in question actually moved next door to them but just hasn't gotten his new address into the computer yet?"

Indeed, in his Viewpoint, Mr. Maldanado states, ". . .I doubt there are any parents who go on the Megan's Law Web site and are lulled into a false sense of security if they see there are no registered sex offenders in the nieghborhood." Uh, if that's the case, what's the point of the computer tracking if nobody's fooled by it's lack of reliability?

And that's the problem with both Megan's Law and now Mr. Maldonado's licence plate scheme. Unless every paroled sex offender in the country is required to wear a GPS device that's constantly broadcasting real time whereabouts to a live computer website somewhere, this whole exercize seems pointless.

The sad, sick, scary reality is that sex offenders, like other criminals, are somebody's Dad, Step-dad, brother, Uncle, priest, scout troop leader, teacher, business owner, guy on the street. The incidence of "stranger" abduction is only a very, very small part of the molester pie. The biggest threat isn't from monsters leaping out from bushes in the dead of night, but from known family/friends/neighbors.

So how would making Dad put a special license plate on his car alert anyone to anything? Suppose the family had only one car? When Mom drives anywhere, should she slap on one of those magnetic door signs signs saying, "Don't Look At Me -- It's my Husband?"

And, are we to tell our children, "Oh, by the way, before getting into the car with your neighbor, Mr. Jones, be sure to check his license plate?"

If the point of this bill is to set up one more "hoop" that likely will be impossible to jump through in order to revoke & impose longer add-on sentences on sex offenders, then maybe a better idea is to rethink our sentencing laws concerning sex crimes. If we, as a society, believe that such offenses are "incurable," then maybe we need to make sentencing for such crimes Life Without Possibility of Parole, instead of trying to create all kinds of ways to end up with a "de facto" life sentence, i.e. booby-trap life outside prison for sex offenders with so many traps they can't possibly help but step into one of them and so be bounced back into prison.

Meanwhile, on a far nicer topic

Was downtown yesterday and stopped into G's Italian Freeze shop on 1126 Morro St., a few doors down from the Democratic Party's offices, across from the "alley-way" entrance of the Barnes & Noble Bookstore/"underground" center.

Woa! If you like "All Natural Refreshing Fruit Freezes," like "Italian Ices," ya gotta try these. They have a tangelo freeze that's perfectly balanced -- not too sweet, with a rich, complex flavor - and if you like tart and sour, try the Limon -- Meyer lemons & limes in a freeze that's breathtakingly, squinch-your eyes, tongue shivveringly tart -- wooooo! Beyond yummy.

The owner's been showing up at the Thursday's Farmer's Market, so look for him there or stop by the shop. They're open 11-5 weekdays, Fri & Sat 11 to six-6:30ish. Summer's coming so it's time for a perfect --Yum times 10!!-- treat.