Legislation Offers New Line of Defense Against Child Predators
by Ed Thomas
July 26, 2006
(AgapePress) - - Child advocates are celebrating the passage of a bill, which promotes background checks for sex offenders. The House of Representatives has approved the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act and sent it to President Bush, who is expecting to sign the bill into law within the next couple days. The bill sets up a national Internet database to help keep tabs on sex offenders in every community. The National Registry is intended to provide another layer of protection for children and their parents against sex offenders. It tracks where those offenders live, work, and attend school. Reportedly, it requires the entrance of just a zip code for anyone to access the information on the system.
Jody Gorran, founder of the National Foundation to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse, has worked since 1996 to protect children by promoting background checks and federal legislation. He says the bill helps parents address the problematic issue of workplaces, and civic and sports organizations, which do not properly screen workers and may let sexual offenders get around kids.
"The fact that employers will now have access to a more uniform system to determine whether or not someone has a history of sexual molestation will also be very important," Gorran says. "So I have to take my hat off to Congress for this very multifaceted bill that's going to help protect our kids."
Gorran is glad that the system will be available to the public.
"Parents have the right to know who is teaching their children, who is coaching their children, and by extending this procedure through the federal government, we'll go a long way to helping parents protect their kids," he said.
The bill, which passed on a voice vote in both houses of Congress, requires the most serious offenders to register for life. Failure to keep information current could cost any of them a ten-year felony prison term.
The Child Protection and Safety Act is named for Adam Walsh, the murdered son of America's Most Wanted host John Walsh.
Ed Thomas, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
