Who Are We, And What Are We Going To Do About It?

by Joni - Women Against the Registry

All of us in the movement to reform sex offender laws are directly or indirectly adversely affected by them. If it weren't for the internet and it's resources for research, many of us would have no idea that the SO case involving us or those we love is not an anomaly; that the court that has convicted on no evidence is what now happens all over America.

When we went looking for help online, we found case after case after case of convictions that astounded us. How can this be happening, we wondered. Those having the most basic knowledge of the U.S. court system see immediately that something has gone terribly wrong when it comes to sex offenses. An older man being arrested, tried and convicted of inappropriate touching two years after helping a little girl learn to ride her bicycle; couples being arrested when store employees sees their developed film with pictures of their children frolicking naked in the bathtub; a man in trouble for kissing his baby on the belly; a child, 6, taken in when he hugged a teacher's aide with his face in her bosom; evidence that is not admissible to prove your innocence, with convictions on hearsay alone - even when the 'victim's' story changes two or three or more times. Forced registering for life for so-called 'crimes' that weren't even crimes a few years ago.

We were appalled and outraged by the mind-boggling, blatant disregard for not only constitutional, but inherent rights. We sought answers. We sought out others who have been victims of the system... and we found them. Boy, did we find them. Not only were the rights of sex offenders being trampled, but those arrested for domestic violence are convicted on the same flimsy or no evidence. What's going on?

It's natural to want someone to talk to who is going through the same thing. There are all kinds of support groups: gamblers, alcoholics, bereavementt, and many more. While these serve to support individuals, there is no movement within them to change the laws of the country and that is what we're after.

When you see children and grandchildren - anyone you love - with their families torn apart because of lies and the miscarriage of justice, you want to act. The gnawing ache of feeling helpless gives way to the determination of fixing things that simply are not right. Patriotism is loving your country enough to demand your elected officials act on the people's behalf and do what's necessary to keep the American family intact and not giving in to special interests whose agenda is the opposite. All we want is what is right and fair. All we want are the human rights back that made this country great. All we want is for people to wake up and see what is going on! The selfishness and apathy of our population is bringing us down. People don't think about such issues until it happens to them. We're all members of the same family and turning your back on another human is turning your back on your brother or sister.

We don't want to be angry. We don't want to perpetuate that negativity. We want the real perpetrators that harm children to be tried and convicted within the law. We want an end to being tried and convicted in a circus of horrors - a travesty of justice.

We demand to know why and how the feminists' victims' rights movement got so powerful that it tramples others' rights. We demand to know why they have such disregard for the innocent children affected by their asinine laws. We demand to know why men, the breadwinners in most families, are singled out to live the rest of their lives in shame. We demand to know why taxpaying citizens are being rushed off to prison in ever-increasing numbers. We demand to know why DA's are prosecuting these citizens at such an alarming rate. We demand to know why judges are arbitrarily handing out such tough sentences on crimes with no victims. We just want to know what the hell is going on.

We've seen how rarely it happens that one person changes anything. Money and its power is a mighty foe to be up against, but a mother's protective instinct multiplied many times becomes a force to be reckoned with. Eventually, the slow but growing change to what is good that is happening on Earth will overturn all injustices, but we demand change now. We demand our sons', fathers', brothers', husbands' be returned to their families. We demand the registry - that does nothing but create hardship for innocent people, especially children, in so many, many ways - be abolished.

The following are rules for activists wanting to make a change:

1. Be practical. Don't get so caught up in your hope for radical, sweeping reforms that you lose sight of real opportunities to make incremental progress.
2. Don't hate people you disagree with. If you forget how to communicate with people on the other side of the issue, you lose your ability to bring others around to your way of thinking. *THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!*
3. Don't lose hope. You will almost certainly experience depressing setbacks, but activist movements take time. Above ALL - keep POSITIVE!
4. Get educated. Read up on your American history and your issue; develop a functional understanding of how the government works.
5. Develop sound arguments to back up your positions. Two highly effective ways to do this: Familiarize yourself with arguments used by people with whom you agree, and familiarize yourself with arguments used by people with whom you disagree.

We are up against the public's tunnel-vision perception of sex offenders - the most unsympathetic of any criminal category. Others don't - won't - see the injustices we see. They don't understand the collateral damage affecting millions. They don't know that children are losing the love of their fathers senselessly and needlessly. They don't see the broken hearts and dreams we see. They don't know how many families - the core of America - are ripped apart because of a system gone bad. Very, very bad.