NC Attorney General – NCRSOL https://ncrsol.org Fighting for registered citizens and families Fri, 31 Jul 2020 23:00:07 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://ncrsol.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/cropped-cropped-NCFlag2-32x32.jpg NC Attorney General – NCRSOL https://ncrsol.org 32 32 165103099 Hurricane Isaias and what to do with registrants? https://ncrsol.org/2020/07/hurricane-isaias-and-what-to-do-with-registrants/ https://ncrsol.org/2020/07/hurricane-isaias-and-what-to-do-with-registrants/#respond Fri, 31 Jul 2020 23:00:07 +0000 https://ncrsol.org/?p=4085 By DWAYNE DAUGHTRY – If COVID-19 wasn’t enough bad news, now the state is facing its first hurricane to perhaps make landfall on the coast of Wilmington. Yet, while Governor Cooper declares a state of emergency ahead of the storm, those affected by the sex offender registry are again left out of mitigation planning and safety concerns.

Attorney General Josh Stein has had since 2017 to address sex offender issues and sheltering during hurricanes, yet hasn’t produced one memo or suggestion on how to resolve the issue. According to Mr. Stein’s election website promoting priorities of public safety, “To live our lives to the fullest, we must first be safe and secure at home and in our communities.” Mr. Stein doesn’t intend to live up to addressing safety for all since registrants are still banned from all hurricane shelters primarily because they are facilitated on school properties.

Mr. Stein should be reminded that people on the registry have been adjudicated in court for their past wrongdoings. Mr. Stein shouldn’t use the registry as punishment and banishment from basic essential needs and accesses to safety. However, this is exactly what the Attorney General continues to do each hurricane season.

But let’s not put the Attorney General in front of the bus just yet. Our legislative leadership should share some blame in this issue. The N.C. legislature has had nearly a decade to fix the law banning registrants from shelters on school properties. Since 2011, not one bill has been introduced on the house or senate floor to address the state of emergency conditions for registrants and their families.

But while N.C. Governor Roy Cooper stands in front of microphones requesting federal funding to mitigate an approaching hurricane, he also shares a tremendous responsibility of not addressing registrants at emergency shelter issues during his long tenure as Attorney General before he became elected to the states highest office.

It is time for state leaders to take a moment and think of the bigger picture. People on the registry are human beings that paid their price in court. However, people on the registry continue to be the “fear selling modern-day boogie man” used as pawns during elections. Enough is enough! Either we address the most challenging task today, or we will never address the issue at all. Registrants are humans and deserve the same benefits of safety as other humans. Registrants should have the right to unrestricted safety, security, and emergency shelter needs. Now is the time to call your state leaders and make your voice heard. Also, make your voice heard on election day. Vote, and vote for those that listen to your needs and concerns.

The bottom line is that the Governor, Legislature, and Attorney General since elected in 2017 could have addressed this issue, but didn’t. By the looks of things doesn’t seem interested in working hard for the people of North Carolina.

]]> https://ncrsol.org/2020/07/hurricane-isaias-and-what-to-do-with-registrants/feed/ 0 4085 NARSOL v. Stein Update https://ncrsol.org/2020/03/narsol-v-stein-update/ https://ncrsol.org/2020/03/narsol-v-stein-update/#comments Thu, 26 Mar 2020 15:13:36 +0000 https://ncrsol.org/?p=3749 We wanted to give you a quick update on the NARSOL v. Stein case that affects all North Carolinians on the sex offender registry. Civil lawsuits navigating through the federal courts take time. There are many motions by both sides, which may prolong the case from moving forward. 
However, the case is still active, and NARSOL, as well as NCRSOL, continue to exercise our right to fight on your behalf. On March 19, 2020, the state attorneys asked for an Extension of Time to Complete Discovery Motion and  Amend Scheduling Order. Such motions are a standard procedure used to ensure both sides meet all its criteria ensuring a fair hearing of the evidence. 
Despite all the technicalities of law, this case has reached a judge for his decision. In light of the Covid-19 virus, that decision could be significantly delayed until standard court operations resume. Therefore, once NCRSOL has been informed, we will keep our readers informed. 
Please do your part to support NCRSOL and NARSOL. Court litigation does not come cheap. The cases we push forward have a more exceptional impact on the registry community not only in North Carolina but potentially all over our nation. NCRSOL utilizes funding only when credible attorneys have advised us that we have a compelling avenue at winning the case. 
Our mission is to end the registry. Won’t you support us to make that dream a reality? 
]]> https://ncrsol.org/2020/03/narsol-v-stein-update/feed/ 8 3749 Side effects of the registry https://ncrsol.org/2019/09/side-effects-of-the-registry/ https://ncrsol.org/2019/09/side-effects-of-the-registry/#comments Sat, 21 Sep 2019 18:13:06 +0000 https://ncrsol.org/?p=3500 Written by Phoebe . . .

I am a wife.  I am a mother.  I work a full-time job as well as side jobs to generate income.  I am a volunteer with a non-profit and in my church.  I am an advocate for reforming laws.  And – I am a built-in Uber for my child who has to be a million different places, seemingly at the same time.  What is it like to be a family member of someone on the registry?  At times, very lonely.  At times, full of guilt.  Guilt that you can do all the things you want and need to do, but your family member can’t due to the restrictions.  What’s it like?  It stinks.  I have no other fancy words to explain it.  Simply being assigned to the registry is not necessarily the most difficult part.  My experience over the years is that the side effects which come with the registry are also quite challenging.

Every time the doorbell rings or there’s a knock at my door, I experience a moment of panic.  It is the assumption that the sheriff is at my door.  And if they are, it’s okay because we are not doing anything wrong.  They come by to verify our address about every other month, but the sheer thought of them showing up just freaks me out.  I plea with my friends and family to please call before they show up at the door.  I don’t even care if they call from the driveway!  Just please don’t ring my doorbell unannounced because of the anxiety it causes me.

Many people don’t see the side effects from being on the registry.  I certainly do.  I have.  I am part of that collateral damage.  Every place my family wants to go comes with a checklist.  We do a mental rundown of the legal restrictions to see if this is a place we can go.  Many of those family-oriented places are No-Gos. The restriction of not being able to attend church as a family is a tough one for me personally.  Two years ago the a NC Senator running for Attorney General pushed through a law that now restricts residents from attending church (with nursery/childcare facilities), a place where forgiveness, healing, and reform happen.  Not having my husband with me has been extremely difficult, to the point that I have sat in tears many a Sunday over it.

Animosity sometimes sets in with me.  I work really hard to overcome it, but sometimes I am bitter.  Is it fair to our child that his father can’t be there for him as he grows up?  Years and years of missing school plays, sports events, music concerts, and award recognitions. Is it fair that I am the person having to do all the leg work that my husband is restricted from – pediatrician visits, school conferences, drop-off/pick-up to school.  I feel like parents look at me with that, “Why is her husband never here” look?  That is the worst. Don’t get me wrong – I will do everything in the world for my child, but not having a partner to help keeps the responsibility completely on me at all times.

I have put up a wall.  I wear an invisible mask.  I keep people at arm’s length and hide parts of my life that I don’t want them to know.  Rarely do I let people get to know me beyond a surface level.  Listen up – I am not a stuck-up person.  I am just guarded.  I stand off to the side.  I don’t share personal information or volunteer things about myself.  I fear people knowing my family story.  I fear the questions they may ask, or worse – their biased opinions and judgement.   I am ultra-protective of my family to protect them from harm, gossip, and accusations.  So, yes, I shut down and only let a select few into my social circle.  I am very blessed to have friends who have been by my side, shared my hurts, and celebrated my victories.  However, the registry has put up these walls around me and caused me to become a more guarded person.

So here’s the thing.  I didn’t write this to scare you or depress you.  I wrote this because it is raw, true emotion for me.  Yet, with anything, there should be a maturing process along the way.  I have grown.  I am not the same person I was years ago.  Yes, a side of me is far more guarded, but I have also proven my strength.  My faith.  I have found who my true friends are.  I have found an ability to talk to people going through a really tough time in their lives because I have been there.  Accept where you are, then find the good in it.  Do not focus on the negative.  Do not crawl in a hole that you can’t crawl out of it.  The past is the past – and how you move forward is what matters.  You are not alone.

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