9-8-2012 New Mexico:
Police stage show of force outside hotel
ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - They're a group with a controversial message, reforming laws that deal with sex offenders. The Reform Sex Offender Laws organization is holding their annual national conference in Albuquerque starting Friday.
The message that the group is discussing is controversial enough that members from Albuquerque and New Mexico State Police are sticking around the hotel to ease public concern. The opening ceremony got underway just before 9 a.m. and cops were in the parking lot as early as 7:30 a.m.
This the fourth year for the conference and organizers say it's bringing together people who are lobbying for revisions to the law on registering sex offenders. They also say they are for making the laws smarter, not softer when it comes to someone who has paid for their past sexual offense.
In a packet released to the media, it states they'd like to see access to the sex offender registry just be for law enforcement agencies and they also encourage programs which would reduce sexual abuse before and after conviction.
"Even if a person was on a public registry, they're in the privacy of their home, so how is public notification preventing anything," asks Brenda Jones, executive director for the Reform Sex Offender Laws group.
News 13 tried to reach the general manager of the Ramada Hotel to see if there has been any backlash, but he was not available for comment. One of the workers did say they have not received any complaints from guests and the only cancellations they had were at the beginning of the week.
Albuquerque Police say they will be on hand along with other law enforcement throughout the weekend to continue to monitor the area. ..Source.. by David Romero
September 8, 2012
Sex-registry reformers open conference
August 30, 2012
Conference will aim to remove sex offender off mandatory lists, soften laws
8-30-2012 New Mexico:
A registered sex offender who is tired of the stigma that comes with the label is one of the forces behind a national conference in Albuquerque next week that aims to soften reform sex offender laws.
Lloyd Swartz is one of the more than 2,700 registered sex offenders living in the state of
New Mexico, according to the state's sex offender registry.
Swartz, 43, was convicted of sexual assault in Texas in 1987.
"My conviction was over 25 years ago…I served my sentence over 15 years ago. And yet I'm still being punished, and my family is still being punished," he told KOAT-TV.
The father of two must remain on the sex offender list for 13 more years due to state laws, but he feels he doesn’t belong on the list anymore because he’s served his time.
Swartz will be a part of the fourth annual Reform Sex Offender Laws National Conference.
Swartz believes the only people who should have to be on the list are those currently serving sentence, and he says that no one should have to be on the list for life.
However, many parents disagree. One grandmother, Sally Gomez, said she wants the ability to go on the internet and see what areas sex offenders are registered in.
"I mean, we just need to protect our children and we need to know where they're living ... it's important we know where they (sex offenders) are," Gomez said.
The New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez said she doesn’t support softening the sex offender laws, and she actually wants to make them more harsh.
The conference runs from September 6 to 9. ..Source.. by ABC News.com
