Sure is cramped in there
This probably needs no comment whatever from me, so I’ll just quote it the way Mike McCarville posted it:
The Senate has approved a measure designed to close a loophole in Oklahoma’s sex offender registration law.
Senator Cliff Branan is the author of the legislation, Senate Bill 2231, which won unanimous approval today.
“Requiring sex offenders to register is supposed to be a way to keep track of where these predators are and ensure the public can access that information,” said Branan, R-Oklahoma City. “But the way the current law is written, offenders can legally give a post office box number instead of a street address. This defeats the whole purpose. SB 2231 would require them to use the actual address of where they’re currently living.”
Disclosure: I live in Branan’s district (40).
Lisa Paul »
25 February 2010 · 8:59 pm
My only comment would be: who drafted the legislation that had that glaring loophole in it in the first place?
CGHill »
25 February 2010 · 9:18 pm
This particular statute (O.S. Title 57, Sections 581-590) has been amended so many times that it’s hard to tell exactly when that particular woolybooger crept into the wording.
Official registration requires that the perp provide a copy of his driver’s license or other state ID, but the DL doesn’t require a street address if you have a proper post office box. (I used to. Have a post office box, I mean.)
Jeffro »
25 February 2010 · 9:50 pm
For a time, the Kansas database had a couple offenders living in an abandoned church in Kalvesta – an unincorporated berg just north of where I live. Of course no one was really there. I was suitably impressed with the followup by the State – that was their listed residence for a couple years.
Dan B »
27 February 2010 · 8:48 am
Knowing how the Oklahoma Legislature works, the loophole was there to benefit a legislator’s relative. Let’s see who votes against this measure.
I have 3 registered sex offenders within a 2 mile radius. I have met with all 3. All 3 seem genuinely sorry for what they have done. All 3 have my phone number if they need anything. And all 3 have the standing warning that if they enter our family property without my permission and physical preference, my wife or I will shoot to kill.
I’m less worried about the registered sex offenders than I am about the UNREGISTERED ones, especially the ones that haven’t been discovered yet.