The Sponsors of Sex Offender Bills Speak Up: Policy Makers’ Perceptions of Sex Offenders, Sex Crimes, and Sex Offender Legislation

April 2013:

Abstract:
In the first investigation of its kind, a national U.S. sample of state-level policy makers (N = 61) were interviewed about their perceptions of the sexual offenders in their state, their state’s sex offender laws, and collateral consequences of these laws, among other efficacy questions. Respondents were selected nonrandomly, as policy makers who sponsored sex offender bills were deliberately targeted for inclusion in the study. It was presumed these respondents would be more knowledgeable about sex offenders and sex offender laws. Results indicated that most respondents were familiar with the sex offender legislation in their state, that most of the laws were drafted with hopes of increasing public safety, and that policy makers believed their laws were functioning as intended, although empirical data are lacking to support these latter claims. Despite a strong conviction that sex offender laws are necessary to control sexual recidivism, policy makers discussed numerous complications and potentially deleterious effects of their own laws. ..Source.. by Michelle Meloy -and- Kristin Curtis -and- Jessica Boatwright

doi: 10.1177/0093854812455740 Criminal Justice and Behavior April 2013 vol. 40 no. 4 438-452

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"Sex offenders are among today’s most hated and feared criminals. The contemporary response to this has resulted in specialized laws, referred to as “sex offender legislation.” Although legislation targeting sex offenders is not new to the United States, or elsewhere, the policy makers involved in today’s “third wave” of sex offender laws (Terry, 2005) are the focus of this current investigation. This wave of U.S. sex offender laws is based on numerous misperceptions about sex offenders and sex offender risk factors, public fear, and the pressure for policy makers to “do something” about this social problem." OPENING STATEMENT.

That alone should give you an idea of the findings of this study. If anyone is going to sue based on any law, this study needs to be part of the lawsuit. PS: 61 Lawmakers nationally were interviewed about the laws in their respective states, anonymity was GUARANTEED to all of them in their responses.