The case challenges the federal SORNA law that requires individuals who had been released from their registering duties in one state to resume registering upon relocating to another state. Currently, in cases where an individual has completed his/her registering period or where the courts have ruled that state’s registry law to be unconstitutional, the individual can be placed back on the sex offender registry in a different state after moving or visiting and could face severe retributions if they fail to report the change.

On October 1st, 2019, United States District Judge Gershwin A. Drain granted the U.S. Attorney General’s motion to dismiss the case, citing the plaintiff’s failure to identify the specific statutory language he is challenging and several arguments that were undercut in previous court rulings. An appeal was promptly filed to the 6th Circuit Court in November 2019.

This story is a reprint from the NARSOL website

The fair is just another place in a long list of locations that registrants are not allowed to attend.  But WHY?  Do we stop anyone else from going to the State Fair?  I’m going to continue saying this – there is a huge drug problem in this area and yet we don’t stop drug dealers from attending.  The request to allow registrants to go the State Fair is not about the fair itself.  It is about human rights.  It is about the fact that the government has said a registrant cannot go there.  There is no valid justification as to why.  Yes, there has been a person or two arrested at the state fair.  However, what they don’t tell you is if that person was committing some kind of act at the fair OR if they were just merely on the premises.  Maybe they really wanted those gotta-have French Fries that were just featured on the news.  Maybe they were hitting up the deep-fried Oreos vendor.  Maybe they were standing in line for those giant-sized donuts I heard all about this year.  Like most of us, registrants are no different.  They, too, want to fill their bellies with deep-fried-everythings during the week of the fair!  Oh, and by the way, how much publicity was there about the 35 fair workers who were charged with drugs during a single night of monitoring their temporary living quarters?

Let’s forget the registry for just a moment.  Would it be fair to say to that someone with size 11 feet can’t go to the fair – for no other reason than we just have that rule?  Would it be fair to say that a recovering alcoholic couldn’t go since there’s a beer garden there?  Would it be fair to say that someone with animal allergies can’t go since there is a petting zoo there?  Is it really fair to restrict registrants from the fair for 30 years (the length of the registry), no matter what their charge?  You have people with misdemeanor charges who cannot attend for 30 years.  Just plain crazy.  Telling someone they cannot go to certain places because of a charge against them, for which they have already paid the penalty of imprisonment and/or probation, is not fair.  FAIR.  Now that word makes me laugh in the most sarcastic way.  The state “fair” is not “fair.”

To assume all registered citizens are a threat to society is a falsehood.  Do I think sex offenders are discriminated against?  I absolutely do.  I rarely use the word discrimination because I want to be really careful about how I and when it is used.  But yes – as a group, registered sex offenders are discriminated against. NCRSOL’s push to allow registrants to attend the state fair isn’t about the fair and the fries, Oreos, and donuts – it’s about your rights as a human.

NCRSOL – thank you for your voice.  Your members appreciate you.

You must be the change you wish to see in the world.
Be a change agent…

What does October make you think about?  Cooler temps?  Leaves changing colors?  Decorating with mums?  Pumpkin-flavored anything?  Hayrides, corn mazes, and haunted houses?  Carving pumpkins?  Halloween?

For a registered citizen, October brings on what I refer to as “The Month of Media Attention.”  Every news station does it.  It is generally the scare-tactic approach, but it pulls in the ratings.  So maybe their mission is accomplished as they reach their viewers, but they leave behind a wake of unrest for many.  This is the time of year the Sheriff gets to shine with his/her vow to protect the community.  This is the time of year election ads flurry to “protect the children.”   This is the time of year I just shake my head in disgust trying to figure out how to educate people to the untruths being told by the media.

There are two high profile events that occur in October:  the NC State Fair and Halloween.  Both trigger a flurry of negative attention to registrants.  This year is no different.  I knew to look for it and yes, during the first week of the month every local news station reported on sex offenders being prohibited from attending fairs around the state.  The media is swarming over the Sheriff’s department as they heed the warning that sex offenders prowl on people at the fair.  While it is true that there have been some arrests in previous years of sex offenders attending the state fair, the number is extremely small.  Yet, the media as well as law enforcement often portray a false sense of danger.  It is important to realize that not every registered citizen is a predator.  I absolutely cringe every time the media uses the term Predator as if every registrant is in that category.  That is absolutely not true.  Some registrants are underage couples in consensual relationships.  Some registrants have victimless crimes.  Some registrants are actually innocent and are victims of false accusations.  The truth, which the media fails to report, is that LESS than 1% of the registrants in NC are considered predators.  It is also a proven statistic that most offenses against children are committed by a known person and someone not already on the registry.

While I agree we want to protect our children (and people of all ages for that matter), there are a lot of things we need to protect them from.  Do we keep alcoholics away from the State Fair because they now have a Beer Garden?  Do we keep convicted murders away?  Do we prevent known gang members from coming within a certain number of feet from the premises?  Here’s a kicker – do we keep drug dealers away from the State Fair?  You have to admit there’s a huge drug problem and the number of arrests for drugs far outweigh any other crime.  Yet, I have never once heard the media warn the public that drug dealers may be at the fair lurking after their children.  Again, I am an advocate for protecting people from sexual offenses, so I do not want that misconstrued.  However, the percentage of incidents is so small compared to other offenses. Why is our state spending so much money monitoring registered citizens, many with non-violent offenses, yet not focusing on the drug and gang problem in our area?

Yes, October is a bit of a pain point for me.  My family actually just likes to go to the State Fair for the food and the livestock.  I mean, who doesn’t love the food?  Our desire to attend is so innocent, but it’s not allowed, nor will it be for the 30 years that one is required to be on the registry.  Yes, you read that correctly.  30 years on the registry is the required length of registration.  No matter the offense.  No matter if the charge was a misdemeanor or a felony.  No matter if you’ve already served time in prison or been on probation.  No matter the situation you are in.

Halloween is a lost cause for my family, as our window of Trick-or-Treating together as a family has come and gone.  Those are things one can never get back – the thrill of taking your son or daughter door-to-door and to carnivals in their sweet little costumes.  This is the first year my neighborhood wants to have a block party for neighbors to get to know one another – on Halloween.  I guess, as usual, we will sit inside the house, lights off, and just put on a movie.  That’s about all we do – oh, and wait to see if a deputy stops by the house “for a check.”

So please, Mr. or Ms. Media, please stop using the term “predator” when speaking of registrants.  You are wrong.  And please stop using individuals on the registry to perpetuate fear among our community.

And dear October, while I love the many things you have to offer, I cannot wait to see you go.  My hope is that registered citizens are not unfairly targeted by communities during this time of year because of a false fear perpetuated by the media.

I challenge you to join NCRSOL, ask questions, share your story, and work towards making laws sensible and fair.  There is much support that is offered by NCRSOL members – and together we all do have a voice.

You must be the change you wish to see in the world.
Be a change agent…

CLEVELAND COUNTY, N.C. – Families planning to attend the Cleveland County Fair, may notice extra security in the crowds this year.

Dozens of officers are patrolling the fairgrounds for sex offenders and Sheriff Alan Norman’s message is clear.

“Zero tolerance. You come to the Cleveland County Fair, you will be arrested,” he said.

Officials said North Carolina’s largest county fair is a big playground and deputies want to make sure no one disrupts the fun.

Norman told Channel 9 that cameras will be monitored around the clock to track anything or anyone out of place, and they want parents to help.

“There is a registry you can go to, not only on our website, but it’s linked in with the state website,” Norman said.

Although deputies haven’t had a problem with sex offenders at the fair before, the sheriff said the county has a problem.

“We have an overabundance of what we should have for a county this size,” he said. “I don’t know what the draw is, but I can assure you we are policing them as responsibly as we can,” Norman said.

North Carolina state law prohibits sex offenders from going to any place designed for children, including fairs or playgrounds.

If a registered sex offender is caught at the fair, they can be charged with a felony and sentenced to two years behind bars, depending on their record.

The district attorney said he will give full attention to any sex offender arrested during the fair, which opens Wednesday.

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