For years, states such as Texas have been passing tough laws that punish sex offenders, even minor ones, with punishment that in my opinion is cruel and unusual – violating the Fourth Amendment.

Please do not interpret my opening as in any way condoning sex crimes (or any type of crime) against children. These truly heinous acts should be punished to the maximum extent the law allows.

Many of the current laws require the registration of “sex offenders” is an a database because it is believed that once someone commits an act against a minor they are forever a risk and the community has a right to know who these people are. On the face of it, this sounds reasonable.

The trouble is that these laws treat as equal a 40-year old who molests a six-year old and an 18-year old who has “consensual” sex with his or her 15-year old girl or boy friend. It is this latter category that is the trouble. Often times these offenders are not likely to repeat and even end up married to their alleged victims as in this recent piece posted on reason.tv about one such case in California.

The problem is that so many of these “offenders” are diluting the effectiveness of these laws. It is hard for people to be able to identify those who are truly a treat because so many relatively minor cases are listed on the rolls. Worse still, they laws are harming people who would otherwise be productive members of society. 

If elected I will work to reform these laws so they make more sense. No one should have to pay their entire life for a mistake committed as a teenager.