Enjoy your not so funny ha-ha moment of the day.
State rep Martin Kiar--who this blog supported (My Friendly Martin Kiar FL-97, 8/16/2006) in his run against the Ron-Book-endorsed then state rep Susan Goldstein (R-Weston)--found it distasteful to share the Broward County task force with a citizen impacted by the very restrictions his predecessor failed to institute through her proposed HB91.
Meet the person Kiar was none too anxious to meet.
Paul H., who asked that his last name not be published (''I've caused my family enough problems,'') was swept up in an Internet sting in 2007 in Polk County by a policeman posing as an underage girl. It was a first criminal offense for Paul, then 21, and his no-contest plea got him four years of house arrest, 11 years of probation.
He found a job, despite the electronic ankle bracelet. With his family's help, he purchased a house in unincorporated Broward County. But he worries that if the county adopts the meanest restrictions, he faces the prospect of house arrest without a house.
''I made one mistake. I didn't realize when I took the plea deal that I was getting a life sentence,'' he said. ``I didn't know I could be living under a bridge.''
As the task force has since met, Martin Kiar was forced to Face His Fear and come face to face with the human face of those impacted by residency restrictions. Ron Book's now infamous daughter, Lauren Book-Lin also managed to book (no pun intended) a reservation at the same table with a guest she'd prefer to depict as a monster.
From Broward Beat.com Buddy Nevins:
Miami columnist Fred Grimm said it best. The state will have to straighten out this whole mess.Martin Kiar is pissed.
The youthful state representative is upset about one member of a newly-formed county commission task force – a registered sex offender.
The offender is part of a task force that will make recommendations about laws governing where sex offenders can live.
“I get concerned when sexual predators are put on county boards,” Kiar says.
Apparently Kiar is not alone.
A number of lawmakers in Tallahassee shook their heads in disbelief when they learned Broward County would appoint a registered sex offender to a board.
They chalked it up to more Broward County liberal foolishness.
The task force will contain one sex offender, two cops, home owners association and American Civil Liberties Union representatives, two members of the Broward League of Cities and representatives of a college and the state Department of Corrections.
The victim’s representative is Lauren Book-Lim. She’s lobbyist Ron Book’s daughter.
Book-Lin was molested by her nanny in a widely publicized case several years ago. She now runs Lauren’s Kids, an advocacy group for molested youths.
Information about Lauren’s Kids is here.
I personally don’t agree with Kiar.
Some of the people labeled sex offenders are not a wild-eyed predators that Kiar and everybody else rightfully fears. Those offenders should be controlled.
But others are stigmatized for life because of youthful indiscretions, usually made when they are drunk.
They get caught for urinating in public or being in an Internet sex chat rooms. Somewhat victimless crimes.
The offender appointed to the task force appeared at the commission meeting.
He said he had recovered. His victim appeared with him, according to Mayor Stacy Ritter.
Do people like this – who paid their debt to society — deserve input into laws governing their life?
You bet.
“They are people too,” says Ritter.
I agree.
It's just too bad this discussion came after the fact.
Our thanks to Paul and his involvement on the behalf of so many Floridians.Thoughtfulness comes too late.
The task force charged by the Broward County Commission with finding a way out of the conundrum created by sex offender residency restrictions has listened to experts, crunched numbers and discussed a dismaying array of unintended consequences.
By its second meeting on Tuesday, none of the task force members were defending the notion that draconian restrictions actually protected children from sex offenders.
They discussed better solutions than laws that forced registered sex offenders into homelessness; that left parole officers with no alternative but to send them to live under a highway bridge; that encouraged sex offenders to cluster in neighborhoods with less restrictive ordinances.
They talked about the documented failure of these laws in other states.
They talked about laws, instead, that would keep sex offenders from loitering around places where children congregate. They talked about re-zoning industrial areas to allow sex offender housing.
They talked about restrictions that fail to distinguish between less dangerous offenders and sexual predators.
They pushed beyond the emotional stuff and dug for what made sense.
It was the kind of thoughtful examination needed to sort out a complicated and volatile problem.
Except, it comes too late. Most of South Florida's cities (and Miami-Dade County) have already passed 2,500-foot restrictions around schools, parks, day care centers, even school bus stops. The County Commission holds sway over less than three square miles of unincorporated Broward.
(...)
As for Martin Kiar?
We at Smashed Frog are keeping an eye on your continuing education.
7 comments:
The offender appointed to the task force appeared at the commission meeting.
He said he had recovered. His victim appeared with him, according to Mayor Stacy Ritter.
Paul H., who asked that his last name not be published (''I've caused my family enough problems,'') was swept up in an Internet sting in 2007 in Polk County by a policeman posing as an underage girl.
*****My question is did Paul H meet the undercover cop? If I am reading this correctly than isn't that his victim?*****
Perhaps the "victim" is a family member effected by these laws, a private citizen who has committed no crime, yet is forced to live with the legal constraints.
That's the first thing I thought when I read the scenario.
I'll try to get more info for you....I very much doubt law enforcement showed up with him, but hey, I could be wrong.
Obviously this State rep Martin Kiar doesn't believe in the U.S. Constitution because it gives everyone rights, not a select few.
Without getting into all the rights it does mention, show me one place where it says that a person once convicted of any crime loses the protections of the Constitution Mr. State Rep.
The formation of a task force to handle a specific issues was an act of local government which Mr State Rep obviously dislikes.
It is a shame that there are people like Mr State Rep in high positions who have sworn to uphold the Constitution and who criticize when government (local this time) follows the law.
Obviously Mr State Rep's eyes are tainted, can we expect anything different from his vote on issues protecting ALL of society.
Yes, Smashed Frog's commentary got me going and before I go too far I'll say Amen and hope somehow Mr State Rep is taken down by the voters next time around; I'd like to see him become one of those in society disfavored and see how he handles it.
with all those flags behind him comrade Kiar surely must beleave in the republic.or,Oh shoot i forgot he was educated in Florida.never mind. D
No politician elected in America believes in the Republic. The only belief they have is in green stuff that flows into their coffers for re-election.
This task force was a poor excuse to try and put a band-aid on an issue with a gaping wound. The Judicial powers, Department of Corrections, Department of Probation are all passing the buck.
If these entities had any ethics and morals instead of spending their working days counting their vacation time, we wouldnt be debating this issue. It has been documented that this country has well over 680 thousand convicted sex offenders. Over one third of these offenders are illegal immigrants who keep going thru the system and perpetrating more crimes. Florida has well over 5000 offenders who commited their crimes in other states and have settled in here for no other reason than the weather.You want to get a handle on this issue? Demand the Law Enforcement agencies, you and I pay thru the nose for, DO THIER DAMN JOBS. Deport the bastards that are on a ever revolving wheel of crime sprees, Stop offenders who commit their crimes in other states from moving into Florida. End (gain time) for offenders who have been convicted of sexually based crimes. Remove all true "Romeo" offenders from the FDLE website immediately. I am sick and tired of being told by inept, overfunded, under performing Public agencies that I as a Parent, a taxpayer and a homeowner have to make concessions on allowing these people closer and closer to my children. We pay an awful lot of money for agencies to enforce the laws that were written with the blood of our citizens and in the big picture none of them are doing it consistently enough to put a dent in this issue. But they sure are quick to hold their hand out for more funding. This issue must be handled from the top down with people who have the balls to do what they are getting paid for. We arent getting that!
And remove first time offenders from the registries, with an emphasis on those convicted of so-called third degree felonies....
Post a Comment