The law is not retroactive. But don’t be confused by that. The fact that it’s not retroactive merely means that nobody can be charged with a violation of any of its prohibitions if the facts forming the basis of the violation occurred before September 1, 2016. Otherwise, the law absolutely applies to all 7B registrants or anyone whose conviction involved a minor-victim REGARDLESS of when they were placed on the registry. The last section of the statute should be understood to mean that nobody can be charged with or convicted of an offense under the new statute unless the offense (the offense against THIS NEW statute) occurs after September 1.

Please visit and comment as often as you’d like. Short answer, of course, is that none of this protects anyone at all. We’re not convinced that it’s even the intent of the law. More likely, it’s legislation so easy to pass that it’s almost a shame not to…especially since it makes for very easy television advertising. Be prepared to see ads by Sen. “Buck” Newton extolling his herculean effort to protect us from “those dangerous sex offenders.” But he’s really just shooting fish in a small pail. How hard is that? -Admin