MO- Sex Offenders Challenge Halloween Law

According to the complaint filed in court only 4 RSOs are making these claims, there is nothing in the complaint to indicate this applies to ALL RSOs. i.e., not a class action lawsuit. The complaint is clear, this affects FAMILY RIGHTS of the 4 plaintiffs and they should be granted relief.

Additionally, reading some of the comments to the St. Louis Post Dispatch article, it brought a thought to mind regarding, candy should be given to children ONLY by non sex offenders.

PARENTS: How many parents would be considered a "sex offender" TODAY if they had been convicted of their sexual escapades when they were younger. Sexual escapades YESTERDAY being sexual crimes TODAY. I hear some saying, thankfully no one knows of the YESTERDAYS, TODAY. If that is applicable, are they part of the 100,000 claimed to be missing from registries TODAY? Whether they are or are not, they are handing out candy to children TODAY.

10-7-2008 Missouri:

ST. LOUIS (CN) - Registered sex offenders say Missouri's is unconstitutionally restricting their activity during Halloween. The plaintiffs, who are parents, say the law is too vague, particularly as it applies to their own children and grandchildren.

The new law took effect June 30. It prohibits all Halloween-related contact with children; orders the offenders to stay inside their homes between 5 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. unless there is an emergency; orders them to post a sign stating, "No candy or treats at this residence;" and orders them to turn their outside lights off after 5 p.m. on Halloween.

The plaintiffs say they don't know how to conform to these rules with respect to their own children and grandchildren and fear undue prosecution. They are represented by Anthony Rothert of the ACLU.

The defendants include Missouri Attorney General Jeremiah Nixon, Gov. Matt Blunt, and other law enforcement officials. ..News Source.. by Courthouse News

What is Halloween-itis?

Halloween-itis is a coined term used to describe a mental abnormality often occurring in public servants and politically aspiring persons who can pass this psychological disorder onto others, generally occurring around holidays and elections.

The disease is characterized by abnormal delusional visions of perceived horrific events creating an aura of public fear; these doomsayers get their rewards by painting a picture of "the sky is falling" and alienating the public.

Significant harm is caused by people so afflicted because the objects of their obsession are persons which society already looks down on (including their family members), and the collateral harm caused society is truly a tragedy.

Halloweenitis is a subset of offenderitis, and both are incurable social diseases because these people refuse to face reality, or facts and statistics which prove them wrong, they discount these facts and statistics because in their minds they only see horrific events in everyday life circumstances.

Those afflicted with Halloweenitis, fear based, focus on denial of civil rights of other persons under the pretext of public safety.

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Sex offenders challenge Mo. law banning them from Halloween activities

St. Louis — Four Missouri sex offenders are challenging a new state law that confines them to their darkened homes on Halloween and restricts them from contact with children that night.

Their lawyer says the law leaves them uncertain of whether they can even costume their own children or grandchildren.

The suit they filed in federal court in St. Louis claims the provisions are too vague to enforce and improperly add punishment to sentences already served.

A spokesman for Attorney General Jay Nixon vowed to defend the statute.

The provision, part of a broader bill signed into law this summer, says convicted sex offenders must "avoid all Halloween-related contact with children" by staying inside their homes from 5 to 10:30 p.m. "unless there is just cause to leave," such as a job or emergency.

They also must keep outside lights off and post a sign that says "no candy or treats at this residence."

A violation is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail.

With the law, Missouri joined Illinois and at least a handful of other states that either monitor sex offenders during Halloween or bar them from participating.

The suit, filed Friday on the offenders' behalf by the American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri, complains that the measure fails to provide enough guidance to police to prevent arbitrary or discriminatory enforcement.

The ACLU legal director, Tony Rothert, said offenders can't be sure of their status even with their own children or grandchildren. He said the terms "Halloween-related contact" and "avoid" and "just cause" are not clear.

The law could even endanger sex offenders, Rothert said, by requiring them to post signs that could make them targets.

"There's already pranks on Halloween," Rothert said. "If someone wants to harass you and cause you problems that night, you can't even turn your lights on."

The two sentences about Halloween were inserted at the request of Sen. Brad Lager, R-Maryville, in a bill generally tightening restrictions on sex offenders. Lager said Tuesday that a constituent suggested it.

The bill's sponsor, Sen. John Loudon, R-Chesterfield, said following the law is simple: "If they have children or grandchildren, then the one spouse takes them out, or you go to a party, or you go to something neutral. But we don't want predators opening their homes on Halloween."

Up until now, Loudon added, "There's nothing that prevents a brazen predator from trying to hand out candy to kids on Halloween."

Loudon also said that he does not consider the law to be additional punishment.

"I think life goes on without Halloween in your own home," he said. "There are lots of other opportunities for people. I think it's kind of silly that people are raising the constitutional right of people to hand out candy on Halloween."

The plaintiffs' names are not used in the suit. But the suit and the sex offender registry show that three have local ties: a 48-year-old Maryland Heights grandmother convicted of two counts of statutory sodomy in 2003 involving a 15-year-old boy; a Ballwin man convicted of statutory rape and statutory sodomy and now living with his stepchildren; and a Cape Girardeau, Mo., woman who admitted having sex with an 11-year-old boy in the mid-1990s in Lake Saint Louis.

The Post-Dispatch deduced the names of two using their descriptions in the suit. Neither responded to calls seeking comment.

Rothert said lawyers were still trying to serve all the defendants with the suit, including Gov. Matt Blunt, Nixon and police chiefs and prosecutors in the areas where the offenders live.

Blunt spokeswoman Jessica Robinson said, "We're not surprised that they're now suing the governor to make it easier to victimize children." ..News Source.. by Robert Patrick,
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH