Megans Law: Protecting American Families Everywhere Essay -- essays re

Megan’s Law: Protecting American Families Everywhere   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the summer of 1994 in Hamilton, New Jersey, a small girl by the name of Megan Kanka was raped and murdered by a convicted pedophile, Jesse Timmendequas. The shocking crime rocked not only the small town, but the entire country. A desperate mother told reporters â€Å"Please, please help us find our daughter, she’s a wonderful girl ... she’s only seven. Let her come back.† (www.crimelibrary.com) No mother should ever have to beg for her daughter’s life. People thought that everyone had a right to know if a child molester was living in their midst. Dick Zimmer, then a state senator in New Jersey, and later a one-term congressman, certainly thought so. It was the dawn of the get-tough-on-crime era, and, with the blessing of the leaders of his Republican Party and support from both sides of the aisle, Zimmer and his colleagues hastily cobbled together a package of bills, which, among other things, required that anyone convicted of a sex offense undergo evaluation. The bills required that the risk sex offenders posed to the community be assessed and that, depending on that assessment, the community be notified. (www.crimelibrary.com) Megan’s Law was passed and now everyone knew who is a child-molester living in their community.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This law provides plenty of positive aspects. The law not only protects the children but it takes away the rights of the violator which to some, is a good thing. This man has committed unspeakable acts and deserves to have these rights taken away. After all he is a monster. â€Å"Every child ought to have the right to grow up in our state without the fear of being sexually abused. The damage inflicted on a child by sexual abuse is incalculable. No amount of money can buy enough treatment to remove the scars.† (Freeman). It may seem as though their freedoms are being taken away but it is only to ensure the safety of children. Because the parents are being informed of the presence of child molesters, it can prevent many horrible things from happening to their children. It comes down to simple things such as â€Å"Who are you playing with?† and â€Å"Stay where I can see.† They may seem like normal things a parent may say to their child but in ac tuality can save them from emotional damage or even death. (Freeman). Ev... ...ent for anyone who does anything so horrible, but this works just as good. Depending on the kind of neighborhood they live in, they can have the kind of neighbors who will ignore them and not acknowledge their presence or the kind who will let them know what an evil person they are. If I had someone living in the same neighborhood as my children, I know for a fact that I would make my presence known. Harassment may not be the moral thing to do, but if your child’s well being is at stake, morals do not really apply. Some say it may be instigating trouble, but really you are just letting them know what you think and what you would do to them if they ever came anywhere near your kid. Works Cited Amoroso, Mary â€Å"Knowing the Sex Offenders in Your Neighborhood† The Record (Bergen County, NJ) 3 January 2002 Crimelibrary.com http://www.crimelibrary.com 26 February 20055 Freeman, David â€Å"Children’s Right to Safety† The Kentucky Post (Covington, KY) 15 January 1996 â€Å"Leave Megan’s Law Alone† Editorial The Star-Ledger (Newark, NJ) 15 October 2004 Nj.gov http://www.nj.gov 26 February 2005 Umberger, Mary †Megan’s Law Now Real Estate Debate† The Seattle Times (Seattle, WA) 22 November 1998