i found this in a couple of local papers, thought some of you might
like to know about this.  Call your senators and tell them not to let
this happen!  If we begin denying rights to ANY section of society,
then how long will it be before the rights of ALL are abrogated.
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PROPOSED FEDERAL LEGISLATION WOULD AFFECT CONVICTED 
   SEXUAL CRIMINALS 
                      or
SEX PREDATOR LAW SHOULD PASS EASILY, TWO SAY
Reprinted from the Athens Daily Review, Monday, March 12, 1996
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
   HOUSTON (AP)-A pair of Texas lawmakers say a proposed federal
law to require some convicted sexual criminals to register with 
the FBI should pass through Congress easily this spring as part of
a new crime bill.
   U.S. Sen. Phil Gramm and Rep. Greg Laughlin, both R-Texas, are
sponsoring the Sexual Predator Identification and Notification Act
of 1996, which would establish a national data base to keep track of
sex offenders.
   The bill is similar to a recently passed Texas statute requiring
sex offenders whose crimes involves juveniles to register with the
law enforcement agency that has jurisdiction in the area where they
live.
   Under the proposed federal measure, convicted sexual criminals 
would be required to register with the FBI when they cross state lines.
The FBI then would notify local law enforcement officials about their
presence.
   Offenders who fail to comply would face a mandatory sentence of one
year in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
   Gramm, of College Station, and Laughlin, of West Columbia, unveild
their proposal Saturday in Houston.  Andy Kahan, a victim rights advocate
who advises Houston Mayor Bob Lanier, said the bill closes a loophole 
that existed between state and federal law.
   A sex offender released from a Texas prison who wants to reside here
must contact his local police department, which is turn is required to
publish information about the offender in a local newspaper and notify
the local school district.
   However, a released or paroled sex offender from another state faces
no such requirement in Texas.
   "I think the emphasis should be on protecting the public," Kahan said.
"If you are released on parole or probation and you have been convicted
of a sex offense you are essentially serving your sentence in the 
community and the community has a right to know that you reside in that
community."
   Gramm said the bill has strong bilateral support in both houses of
Congress and he expects it to pass easily.
   Some civil rights groups have opposed the idea of registering sexual
offenders on the grounds that it invades their privacy.  Gramm rejects
that notion.
   "My response to that is this," he said.  "You don't have to have 
your name on that list.  It is not as if it's there by random.  It's
there because you have committed a sexual predatory act and you have been
convicted for it.  So if you are concerned about your rights, don't
molest our children."
---End Article
... That which does not kill me only makes me stronger.
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