American sex offender registries

[Hauldren Collider]

Huh, didn't know that. Maybe AS is right.

Alabama, possibly? Meh.

Age of consent laws are pretty stupid though, and Virginia's are definitely in the top 10 most stupid.

[notyoueither]

People who have many speeding tickets should have to put prominent signs in windows on all sides of any vehicle they are driving. Public safety needs to be served.

[notyoueither]

Thieves should have prominent brands.

[SlowwHand]

Texas has a "Romeo and Juliet" affirmative defense for minors who are within 3 years of age.
(e) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under Subsection (a)(2) that: (1) the actor was not more than three years older than the victim and at the time of the offense: (A) was not required under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure, to register for life as a sex offender; or (B) was not a person who under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure, had a reportable conviction or adjudication for an offense under this section; and (2) the victim: (A) was a child of 14 years of age or older; and (B) was not a person whom the actor was prohibited from marrying or purporting to marry or with whom the actor was prohibited from living under the appearance of being married under Section 25.01.

So, to answer- the age of consent in Texas is 17. An affirmative defense does not bar arrest and prosecution. It is an issue that the defense must raise at trial.

http://www.dallascriminaldefenselawyerblog.com/2008/05/texas-age-of-consent-law.html

Brand thieves? Like on their forehead with a "T"? I'm for that.

[Al B. Sure!]

So as for the first part of Elok's concern about sex offenders basically being punished after they have served their time... that's a debatable issue.

But for the second part of Elok's concern that consensual sex between someone just under the age of consent and someone just over can cause someone to be labeled a sex offender and equated with pedophiles... everyone realizes (THAT EXCEPT IN VIRGINIA!) this is a non-issue with regards to sex offender registration? Anyone find the consent laws (EXCEPT IN VIRGINIA!) to be unreasonable?

[SlowwHand]

When you consider the known fact that most boys lag behind most girls in maturing, no.

Edit: I say this, but there is still a tinge of doubt in my mind, just to be honest.

[Elok]

I meant that example to stand for very minor sexual offenses in general. If you like, substitute a five-year difference, or something entirely different and petty, like having groped a chick on the subway once. My point was that "sex offender" can mean a lot of things, and that many registries don't discriminate so well.

[onodera]

Don't get so concentrated on statutory rape. What if DF picks up a girl in a bar, she refuses to blow him, so he comes on her face instead. She freaks out, cries rape, calls the police, DF is arrested, convicted, released on parole or whatever, but he's on the sex offender list now. Bummer?

[Wezil]

They would only be making official what we already suspect.

[Dinner]

People who have many speeding tickets should have to put prominent signs in windows on all sides of any vehicle they are driving. Public safety needs to be served.

Thieves should have prominent brands.

I'm with you. It's pretty much the same thing.

[Kidlicious]

WFTP, suckas. This is a little experiment tied in to the deranged-Israeli-rape-law threadi.

EDIT: The reason I ask is that, as a practical matter, these registries have at least two controversial effects. The first is that sex offenders on the list are barred from living or working near so many places that, at least in some cities, the registries make them permanently homeless. The second is that the lists generally don't distinguish between consensual sex a 21-year-old has with his 17-year-old girlfriend and the sadistic rape and murder of a dozen preteen children, which, it could be argued, decreases their utility just a bit.

Just keep them all in jail, even the 21 yr old with the 17 yr old girl friend. That guys gonna just do worse in the future.

[Hauldren Collider]

Sex offender registries promote vigilante justice, which threatens our liberty and security.

[Kuciwalker]

The registries are obviously stupid. If these people are a sufficient danger to society they should be in prison - the housing restrictions aren't going to be that much of a limitation - and if not then they are a gross violation of liberty.

That doesn't even cover the ex post facto nature of many/most of these laws, which is completely illegal.

[Al B. Sure!]

I find it funny that people who find this unjust were some of the same ones who thought it perfectly appropriate to deny voting rights to former felons.

[Hauldren Collider]

I see no inconsistency with that.