Constitutionality of Sex Offenders

As long as I am on the subject of constitutionality (see my last post), I thought I would talk about the other constitutional quagmire that is plaguing very few ears (unfortunately).

Many people would agree that if the government were to tell you where you could and could not live, based on things like nearby schools, stores, or restaurants, you would probably call fowl and call it what it is: unconstitutional.  Why then, does no one argue that telling registered sex offenders where they can and cannot live is unconstitutional.  The reason is simple, no one wants to be the politician who let perverts into their constituents neighborhoods.

Why do we not think about the fairness of these laws.  Lets think of our term for sex offenders, pervert.  In fact, the term pervert is quite offensive, if you ask me.  Most therapists will agree that pedophilia and sex addictions are real things.  Why, then, is it inappropriate to call someone with other mental disorders a derogatory name, but it is perfectly acceptable to call these people by such names.

 Beyond the fact that "perversion" is a mental disorder (that some people can be "cured" of), there are many people who are sex offenders who can't live near schools but aren't pedophiles.  In some states, a rape charge will put you on the same list as pedophiles, and I think that there is a big difference between raping an adult or a child (though I wouldn't call one "better").  There are also a multitude of cases of twenty-something guys or girls who had relationships with teenagers.  After jail time, these people (who have already lost years of their life for a questionable reasons) now find that they have limited rights.  You can't live near an elementary school because fifteen years ago you dated a 17 year old, that simply makes no sense to me.

Honestly, if I had kids, I wouldn't want a pedophile living next door, but that doesn't mean that I should have the right to tell this man where he can and can't live.  I can tell my kids not to go to his house and I can even move, but telling him where to live is just not justifiable.

A note: I was going to put up a easily attainable map of all the "sexual predators" in the New Trier district, but made a conscious decision not to.