Kill Bill

Online readers respond to “Bill Would Keep Sex Offenders From
Doing Something, Maybe. It’s Hard To Tell,” Hair Balls blog, By Craig
Malisow, May 18:

SOP: More often than not, legislators have no idea what’s in
the bills they attach their names to. Am I surprised by her vagueness,
or her being distracted? Nope. That’s standard operating procedure for
them. Their only true intent is to win votes. And if they have to jump
on the sex-offender bandwagon to get there, then so be it.

But watch out, folks. Domestic violence, driving under the influence
and drug conviction registries are next. Now how many people are going
to be “registered”? It makes you wonder where this country is
going.

CFCWashington

Trolling for votes: Sex-offender bandwagon, indeed. This is
trolling for votes by creating the illusion of concern about public
safety. And because the public is already scared to death, this sort of
stuff usually serves to reinforce its fears. Problem is, most sex
offenders don’t commit repeat offenses, and most sex crimes are
committed by someone other than a registered sex offender, like a
teacher, cop, coach or even a parent.

I am amused and dismayed by Senator Florence Shapiro’s lack of
familiarity with her own bill. But after all, this is a representative
democracy, and most voters are pretty much unaware of how their
government works too. Why would Shapiro be different?

Dennis

Harming the children: Florence Shapiro of Texas proudly
states: “If one child is saved, then the laws will be worth what we’ve
done.” Senator Shapiro, is harming even one child with the mark “sex
offender” worth it? According to DPS data, of the more than 47,000
people listed on Texas’s 2007 Department of Public Safety Web site, 275
are under 18, while 3,853 are registered based on offenses they
committed as juveniles.

That’s 4,000-plus juvenile records and youthful past
mistakes. These people are displayed to the world as sex offenders,
banished from towns, unemployed, tracked, hunted, hated and forced into
poverty and a life of endless turmoil. Now they are to be banned from
the Internet?

Florence Shapiro takes no account of the children actually being
harmed, though.

Legislators take an oath to protect our citizens — that means
all of them, like it or not — and she has failed.

Honest Opinion

How cozy: Shapiro’s hubby is a criminal defense lawyer. She
makes the laws; he makes the bucks from the laws. Cozy, isn’t it?

texangal

Fear mongering: When it comes to sex offenders, common sense
goes out the window. Sex-offender legislation is a labyrinth of
well-intentioned but ill-conceived laws fueled more by fear than by
fact. The Adam Walsh Act was passed in an “emergency session” and a
vote passed without most members of Congress reviewing the law, even
the ones who co-sponsored it.

Ever seen the movie Evan Almighty? The main character is a
new congressman who’s asked to co-sponsor a bill without even reading
it. It ends up causing a disaster. Well, that movie isn’t too far
removed from how Congress actually passes legislation, especially when
the words “sex offender” are involved. Who would refuse a law that’s
sure to make them look good to their constituents?

No one puts much thought into how these laws work. They never
consider the consequences of putting teens on registries for consensual
sex or sexting. Former offenders end up forced to live under bridges,
subjected to vigilante violence and denied housing.

MrKennedy

Eighteen years later: My husband is now 37. He touched the
clothed boob of a 14-year-old when he was 19, unaware that his “flirty
companion” was underage. Fortunately for him, he figured it out after
the feel of the chest and noticing something wasn’t quite right. After
she confessed her age, he sent her home. He knew she was jailbait and
wasn’t willing to get himself into a sling. But sadly, his problems
started the moment he touched her. He’s now a convicted felon/sex
offender.

Has he ever committed another crime? Nope. But now we’re married and
have four children, and our entire family is harassed, run out of
places to live, forced to live in an RV (it’s easier to move when the
pitchforks come out) and doing home-schooling (it’s easier to continue
an education for the children after we have to move again). This is all
because the media fuels a frenzy of fear, and stupid politicians like
Shapiro come out with more and more beautiful, moneymaking, feel-good
laws that essentially further ruin our lives.

I believe my husband deserves love and forgiveness, as many who made
an honest mistake do. I’ve walked through hell with my husband for
years now. We’ve paid more than $500,000 in lawyers’ fees, fines,
counseling sessions, polygraph fees, plethysmograph testing to prove
he’s safe, moving fees and more. We could have bought a house by now,
bought a car, made a college fund for our children, even helped other
people. But we’re too busy supporting the state and its crooked,
criminal politicians, all in the name of ridding the world of another
labeled American. Gives you such warm fuzzies, doesn’t it? Again, thank
you, America. Thank you, Senator Shapiro. We couldn’t be miserable
without you.

WifeOfAnSO

HAPPY NEWS FOR US
Houston Press writers do well in several contests

From the national to the local, writers for the Houston Press were recognized in several journalism writing contests last week.

In the national AltWeekly awards sponsored by the Association of
Alternative Newsweeklies, staff writer Craig Malisow is a finalist in
the Public Service category for “Selling You” and Editor Margaret
Downing is a finalist in the Feature category for “Mental Anguish.”
Winners will be announced on June 26 at the AAN annual convention in
Tucson, Arizona.

In another national contest, Press frequent contributor
Randall Patterson received finalist recognition in two categories from
the National Association of Black Journalists. He is a finalist in the
Single Story category for “Don’t Nobody Cry” and a Commentary finalist
for “To Catch a Rapist.” Former Press staffer Todd Spivak is
also an NABJ finalist in the Single Story category for “Obama and Me.”
Winners will be announced in August at the NABJ national convention in
Tampa.

In the Lone Star Awards, a statewide contest sponsored by the
Houston Press Club, the following Press writers and photographer
were named as finalists:

Staffer Chris Vogel for Print Journalist of the Year for “Crime
Doesn’t Pay(back),” “Prison Cover-up” and “Dead End.” Vogel is also a
finalist in Investigative for “Crime Doesn’t Pay(back),” in
Politics/Government for “Prison Cover-up” and in Internet/Hard News
(with Paul Knight) for a series on KBR and rape victims.

Craig Malisow is up for Print Journalist of the Year for “Selling
You,” “Language Barrier” and “Man on Fire.”

Photographer Daniel Kramer is a finalist for Photojournalist of the
Year for a collection of images, in Sports Photo for “boxers” and in
Photo Package for “Ike photos.”

Paul Knight is a finalist in the Feature category for “Gone to
Hell,” in Public Service for “Home Bound,” in Sports Story for “No
Pressure” and in Internet/Hard News (with Vogel) for the KBR
series.

Randall Patterson is a finalist twice over in the
Commentary/Criticism category for “To Catch a Rapist” and “Quality
Assurance.”

Craig Hlavaty is a finalist in the Internet Opinion category for
“Metallica at Toyota.”

John Nova Lomax is a finalist in the Internet Feature category for
“San Leon After Ike.”

And Margaret Downing is a finalist in the Business Story category
for “Blind Faith.” Winners will be announced June 26 at a banquet at
Brady’s Landing.

On the local front, Paul Knight received a Merit Award in the
Francis C. Moore Medical Journalism Awards contest sponsored by the
Harris County Medical Society. Knight got his award in the Medical
Economics category for “Home Bound.”

And Knight and former Press fellowship reporter Russell Cobb
were named finalists for “Wet Foot, Dusty Foot,” a story they co-wrote
with Francisco Alvarado from our sister paper, Miami New Times,
in the regional Green Eyeshades Award contest sponsored by the Society
of Professional Journalists, covering 11 southeastern states. Winners
will be announced later this year.

CORRECTION

The Night+Day article “Kidd Stuff” [by Lee Williams, May 7]
contained a misspelling of graphic designer Chip Kidd’s name.

The Houston Press regrets the error.