Discovering the Definition: What is a Sex Offender?

Sex offenders: the mere mention of these two words can send a person into panic.  In fact, this fear has become so common that one developer decided to cash in and invented an app for the iPhone to locate registered sex offenders in the area.  But for all of this fear and contempt, I wonder how many people actually take the time to research and understand the true definition of a registered sex offender in their state.

For example, The Southern Center for Human Rights recently prevailed in a lawsuit challenging the residency restrictions placed on the members of Georgia’s sex offender registry.  In that case, the named plaintiff was placed on the registry when she was 17 after she had consensual oral sex with her boyfriend who was three weeks from turning 16.  Most recently, The Center for Constitutional Rights challenged Louisiana laws which require a convicted prostitute to register as a sex offender.  Last fall, over 30 residents of South Dakota were  removed from the sex offender registry after challenging a law which required them to register for misdemeanor indecent exposure.

The consequences of registering as a sex offender can be not only humiliating but have a devastating impact on a registrant’s ability to gain employment and housing.  Both Georgia and Florida have had reports of registrants having to live under freeways, in the woods,  or in swamps in order to comply with the states’ strict sex offender laws.  While the thought of introducing less punitive sex offender legislation may make some politicians cringe, it is obviously a necessary step in restoring dignity to those persons whose “crimes” fall miles short of rendering them a danger to society.