The Children's Safety Act

tybee204

Retired WS Staff
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http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:H.R.4472.IH:

The Children’s Safety Act was introduced and authored by Congressman F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr., the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee on December 8, 2005.

Although the House of Representatives passed HR 3132 in 2005, it languished in the United States Senate because of the inclusion of so called “poison pill” amendments.

The updated version of the Children's Safety Act
attempts to ease Senate concerns by removing objectionable amendments: most notably Title X – The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention amendment.

The Children's Safety Act will include the following provisions:

Improves Sex Offender Registration and Notification Program to ensure that sex offenders register, and keep current, where they reside, work and attend school;

Improves verification systems for sex offender information by requiring monthly verification, sex offender in-person verification every six months, and regular notarized verification mailings;

Requires States to have a uniform, public access sex offender registration website;

Creates Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website to search for sex offender information in each community;

Expands sex offenders to include juvenile sex offenders;

Requires States to notify each other when sex offender moves from one State to another;

Expands sex offenses covered by registration and notification requirements to include military, tribal, foreign, sex crimes, and increases duration of registration requirements to protect the public;

Expands community notification requirements to include active efforts to inform law enforcement agencies, schools, public housing, social service agencies and volunteer organizations in area where sex offender resides, works or attends school;

Creates new criminal penalty of mandatory minimum of 5 years to maximum of 20 years for sex offender who fails to comply with registration requirements;

Expands law enforcement use of DNA to solve sex crimes;
Prevents and deters violent crimes against children and sexual exploitation of children

Protects foster children from sexual abuse and exploitation;

Increases criminal penalties against child sexual predators.

Common denominators inherent in all politicians include their ability to count votes and their desire to either secure reelection or seek the next rung on the ladder. There is an unwritten rule that each issue related concern that is brought to their attention represents 100 constituents who have not and will not take the time to convey their concerns via personal communications. By skillfully utilizing the US Senate Contact list that we have provided you will be able to make your voice heard. Tell the Senators to support and vote for the Children’s Safety Act. Together we can change the world.

To read the entire bill please go here.

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:H.R.4472.IH:

(edited to add some new information)
 
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h109-3132

By clicking on the above link you can see what is happening with this Bill. You can see how the Representatives from each state voted and contact them dircetly from links provided there.

Congressional Votes

Sep 14, 2005: This bill passed in the House of Representatives by roll call vote. (Roll 470.) The totals were: 371 Ayes, 52 Nays, 10 Present/Not Voting. [View Details]

h2005-470.png

Blue = Aye, Red = Nay, Green = No Vote, Purple = Senators Mixed
 
thanks shadow...went to site linked and found on right hand side..a little box that can be scrolled down on status of legislation on child abuse



http://www.govtrack.us/congress/subjects.xpd?type=crs&term=Child%20abuse

lots introduced in 2005... including sex offenders, child modeling, etc.

this may be a good place to check to see status of these bills and how elected officials vote or to encourage them to vote on issue.
 
I posted this on Crime & Punishment forum at About.com just now. We should post this everywhere crime is discussed so we can help get the word out.
 
That's a great link, Petra.
 
ERIN RUNNION, MARK LUNSFORD AND MARC KLAAS TO APPEAR ON THE NANCY GRACE SHOW TO DISCUSS THEIR TRIP TO WASHINGTON D.C. FOR THE CHILDREN’S SAFETY ACT

Sausalito, Calif., Leading Child Safety Activists Erin Runnion, Mark Lunsford and Marc Klaas will appear on the Nancy Grace Show Monday, February 27, 2006 at 8:00 pm EST on CNN Headline News. The topic of discussion will be their trip to Washington D.C. to lobby for The Children’s Safety Act .

The Children’s Safety Act, authored by James F. Sensenbrenner (R-WI), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, is by far the most comprehensive legislation to date for protecting children from violent criminals.
 
I've posted it around a couple of places.
 
I can't imgaine anyone closing their doors in D.C. to this trio.

Klaas, Runion and Lunsford. What a powerful group.

There is no reason now why this law shouldn't pass. We need to let our Senators know that we are watching what they do on this bill.

Now is not the time for us to sit back. Now is the time for us to act.
 
CAll me stupid But when does the Seanate vote on this Bill?
 
JDB said:
CAll me stupid But when does the Seanate vote on this Bill

I don't think it's scheduled for a vote.

Here is a press release about the event. Note the last line of the last paragraph.
````````````````````````````````````````````````````
ERIN RUNNION, MARC KLAAS AND MARK LUNSFORD TRAVEL TO WASHINGTON SEEKING SUPPORT FOR CHILD PROTECTION ACT

Parents of murdered children demand federal leadership in the fight to
protect nation's children from violent criminals


Newport Beach, Calif. - February 21, 2006 - Erin Runnion, Mark Lunsford and
Marc Klaas have announced plans to travel together to Washington, D.C. to
seek federal support for HR 3132, known as the Children's Safety Act. The
three parents, each of whom has become a leading advocate for child
protection after losing a child to a sexual predator, are joining forces to
implore members of Congress to support this comprehensive initiative. They
will arrive in Washington on February 26 and plan to meet with leaders of
both the House and Senate to secure votes for the bill.

"The three of us together are a powerful and undeniable
statement. Our names have become synonymous with the tragedy of violenceagainst children. We are traveling to Washington to remind our political leaders that we must do all we can to protect our children, because the risk is so great," said Erin Runnion, whose daughter Samantha was abducted and murdered by a pedophile in California in July 2002. "There are laws and programs to protect children at local and state levels, but it will take a national movement to ensure that our children are safe. The federal
government has a solemn responsibility to show leadership here, protecting
the Pollys, Jessicas and Samanthas who are still with us, and putting their
best interests ahead of all others."

The Children's Safety Act, authored by James F. Sensenbrenner
(R-WI), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, is by far the most
comprehensive legislation to date for protecting children from violent
criminals. The bill addresses a wide range of issues including: electronic
monitoring and much stricter registration requirements for sex offenders;
mandatory minimum sentences for sex offenders; increased support for law
enforcement agencies for training, outreach, investigation and enforcement
relating to sex offenders; increased federal guidelines for the use of DNA
in locating missing persons and prosecuting offenders; and has provisions
for a national fingerprint database for everyone who works with children.

"This important legislation creates much stronger penalties for
individuals who rape children, and provides better tools for law enforcement
to track and monitor sex offenders who have been returned to society," said
Mark Lunsford, whose daughter Jessica was abducted from her Florida home and murdered by a registered sex offender in March 2005. "It makes it much more difficult for sex offenders to ignore registration requirements, and gives
communities vital information by creating a national online sex offender
website that is available to the public."

"We are fighting for this bill on behalf of the 72 million
children under the age of 18 in this country who deserve our best efforts to
protect them," said Marc Klaas, father of Polly Klaas who was kidnapped from
a sleepover in her own bedroom and murdered by a convicted sex offender in
California in 1993. "Our mission is to impress upon Congress the urgency
that this bill deserves, and persuade them to do the right thing and pass it
as soon as possible."

`````````````````````````````````````````````````
 
http://www.amw.com/features/feature_story_detail.cfm?id=1052


2/28/2006

Back in September, The Children's Safety Act --H.R. 3132-- passed the House, but not the Senate. Although the bill had bipartisan support, an unrelated hate crimes amendement that the Senate wanted to add stopped the bill in its tracks.
John Walsh is back on Capitol Hill today to make sure that we can keep our children safe from the hundreds of thousands of sex offenders in this country today. In response, Congressman Sensenbrenner, R-Wisc., introduced The Children's Safety and Violent Crime Reduction Act of 2005, or H.R. 4472 last December.

Today on Capitol Hill, John Walsh joins Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, representatives from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and other victims' advocates and parents like Mark Lunsford whose daughter Jessica was killed in Florida last year; Linda Walker, the mother of murdered college student Dru Sjodin; and Erin Runnion whose 5-year-old daughter Samantha was raped and killed by a sex offender, to push for this legislation in Congress.

John was on the Hill last July to talk about protecting our children, and he knows that politicians will be willing to listen this time too. Just yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist co-sponsored the bill, which is a sure sign of its promise.

What H.R. 4472 Will Achieve

The new Children's Safety and Violent Crime Reduction Act of 2005 will:

▪ Improve the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Program to ensure that sex offenders register and keep current where they reside, work and attend school

▪ Require quarterly verification, in-person verification and regular notarized verification mailings

▪ Require public access to state websites

▪ Create the Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website to search for sex offender information in each community

▪ Expand terms to include juvenile sex offenders

▪ Require states to notify one another when a sex offender moves from one state to another

▪ Expand sex offenses covered by registration and notification requirements to include military, tribal, foreign and sex crimes and increase the duration of registration requirements to protect the public

▪ Expand community notification requirements to include active efforts to inform law enforcement agencies, schools, public housing, social service agencies and volunteer organizations in areas where sex offenders reside, work or attend school

▪ Create a new criminal penalty of a maximum of 20 years incarceration for sex offenders who refuse to comply with registration requirements

▪ Protect foster children from sexual abuse and exploitation




You Can Help -- Write To Your Elected Officials


Please write to your elected officials in Congress to urge them to pass H.R. 4472/ S. 1086. It's time to stand together to protect our children. You can copy the text below into and send it to your senators. Do it today!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Dear Representative and/or Senator:

I am a constituent who is very concerned about the sex offenders who live in my community. Recently, there have been many stories in the news about how the current sex offender registration and notification laws don't work, and need to be changed. I think it's a matter of life and death that you help your fellow lawmakers make this change to protect our children. I urge you to support the provisions of H.R. 4472/ S. 1086 that would create a more comprehensive system for tracking these offenders, and improve the way information is released about these predators to our communities.

Today, there are more than 500,000 sex offenders who are supposed to be registered in the U.S.; however, it's believed that 100,000 of these offenders are 'lost' in the system. We must: Close the loopholes between state programs, so sex
offenders can't move from state to state and elude
authorities.


  • Provide federal and state funding so law enforcement agencies have the resources to track these predators. Make sure that information about sex offenders is released to all of our communities. Thank you for taking the time to read my views on this issue.

The time is now to tighten the tracking of sex offenders, and provide higher standards for notifying people like myself and my neighbors. I don't want one more person who's been convicted of sex crimes to be able to hide from our community and law enforcement, and prey upon our children.

Find your Senators and Representatives here:
Representatives
Senators

You can learn more about H.R. 4472 and S.1086 here:
Dru's Voice -- The Official Site For Dru Sjodin
http://www.amw.com/features/feature_story_detail.cfm?id=1052
 
Dear xxxxxxxxxx:

Thank you for contacting me about recent efforts to enact a new federal
hate crimes law which would prosecute criminal acts motivated by hate.
That amendment was attached to the Children's Safety Act of 2005 (H.R.
3132) which recently passed the House of Representatives. I appreciate the
having the benefits of your comments on this important matter.

The Children’s Safety Act would, among other things, require the
establishment of a sex offender registry that contains information
regarding persons convicted of a criminal offense against a minor or of
registered sex offenders, tighten sex offender registration requirements,
and provide for electronic monitoring of offenders who repeatedly fail to
register. It would also require the Attorney General to establish and
maintain a DNA database that collects information on violent child
predators.

I am committed to providing law enforcement officials with every tool and
every resource they require to catch, prosecute, and monitor those who may
threaten the safety and the lives of our children. In fact, I have
co-sponsored similar legislation that recently passed the Senate Judiciary
Committee and is awaiting Senate action.

However, an amendment was added to the House legislation that would enact a
new federal hate crimes law. Clearly, it is inexcusable and intolerable to
target any individual or group for violence, regardless of race, ethnicity,
religion, or sexual preference. I believe anyone found guilty of a violent
criminal act deserves to be punished through vigorous enforcement of the
law. In fact, current law—including Texas law—already allows the courts to
consider motivation during the penalty phase of a trial. As such, I do not
believe a new federal law—specifically to prosecute criminal acts motivated
by race, ethnicity, religion, or sexual preference—is warranted.

In addition, this amendment does not include the death penalty within the
range of punishment, even for those who commit the most egregious murders.
Even the current federal hate crimes law (18 U.S.C. § 242) provides that
those who kill face the death penalty as a possible punishment.

For these reasons, I cannot support the hate crimes amendment to H.R. 3132,
Children's Safety Act of 2005.

I appreciate having the opportunity to represent the interests of Texans in
the United States Senate. Thank you for taking the time to contact me.

Sincerely,

JOHN CORNYN
United States Senator





517 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Tel: (202) 224-2934
Fax: (202) 228-2856
http://www.cornyn.senate.gov
 
Gabby,

The new amended bill takes care of all your senator's worries. He is talking about the older version.

I can see now why it is so difficult to get a bill passed.
 
Tricia: Just to let you know that Catherine Crier just did a segment on her show about this. She spoke with Mark Klaas, Mark Lunsford & Erin Runnion. It was a good interview and should be seen by a wide audience. I was disappointed though that WS was not mentioned.
 
Sniffy38 said:
Tricia: Just to let you know that Catherine Crier just did a segment on her show about this. She spoke with Mark Klaas, Mark Lunsford & Erin Runnion. It was a good interview and should be seen by a wide audience. I was disappointed though that WS was not mentioned.



Mark Lunsford said that they are running into some problems....mostly with Democrats. I for the life of me will never understand why anyone would not want to pass this bill and "Jessica's Law" but from everything I have heard it is the Democrats that are digging their heels in. I've talked to Reps in my area and they have told me the same thing. I used to be a Democrat but now I just vote for the person who I think will do the best job. I don't want to be associated with either party.
 
Bobbisangel said:
Mark Lunsford said that they are running into some problems....mostly with Democrats. I for the life of me will never understand why anyone would not want to pass this bill and "Jessica's Law" but from everything I have heard it is the Democrats that are digging their heels in. I've talked to Reps in my area and they have told me the same thing. I used to be a Democrat but now I just vote for the person who I think will do the best job. I don't want to be associated with either party.



My senator that wrote me back is a REPUBLICAN.... sounds just like party bashing to me.. (not you Bobbisangel) You know how politicians are. :twocents:
 
Tricia said:
Gabby,

The new amended bill takes care of all your senator's worries. He is talking about the older version.

I can see now why it is so difficult to get a bill passed.

Maybe that senator needs a new email, which points that out.
 
mysteriew said:
Maybe that senator needs a new email, which points that out.



Trust me, HE got one as soon as I got online and saw Tricia's message...
 
I blame the parents How about a bit of supervision, people? I get called over-protective, but I know what my kid is doing at any given time and he is a 19 year old and it’s always been that way and it always will be that way I don’t care if he is 155 years old that’s my job as a responsible parent . To the best of my understanding, that’s all part of the “parent” job I thought becoming an adult meant taking responsibility for your own actions?. We should hold the parents responsible for endangering their own children by not doing simple common-sense things like locking the door and windows or holding their hand in a mall and it would be a good idea not to let them roam around town by their selves.We should Put these “bad parents” in jail for years for endangering a child and contributing to the crime.and this latest one where a lawyer killed a man for allegedly molesting his 2 year old. I want to ask a question where was these “bad parents” when this man allegedly molested this 2 year old. I guess it doesn’t matter when the Media and these “bad parents” are looking for a scapegoat and of course the key ingredients of this scapegoating campaign are sex and children. Time to face reality You don’t need a village to raise a child You need responsible parents and the government to mind their own bizwacks when it comes to raising children.
 

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