Bush signs victims rights bill [Jeb stands up for crime victims] (AP)

AP ^ | April 23, 2002 | Jackie Hallifax

[summer]

Gov Bush has a very impressive record on fighting crime in FL - check out a list of his accomplishments here,
in Making FL a Safer Place.

[summer]

For index.

[Thane_Banquo]

I'm proud to have him as my governor. Jeb has provided principled leadership in the fight on crime. His 10-20-life plan completely undercut the gun-grabbing lobby in Florida by attacking gun criminals without confiscating guns from law-abiding citizens.

[summer]

bttt

[Recovering_Democrat]

Whoa! You mean the Republicans want victims to be PROTECTED?? Why the hell isn't the ACLU out protesting this obviously RACIST law??? < /sarcasm>

[summer]

LOL....crime is an issue that Gov. Bush has a better record on, by far, than anyone running against him. And, it's a very big issue in FL, because many people here remember when FL had a much higher crime rate.

[Houmatt]

We can expect the ACLU to come in and challenge this soon.

Of course, no matter what the media spin, people will know FOR SURE how the ACLU feels about crime victims.

[summer]

I think what is now happening in France, with people voting for Le Pen, is in some ways a direct result of the increase in crime over there.

[summer]

And, by that I mean: voters do care about who will fight crime. If the ACLU should fight any of these new laws, they will be attracting more voters for Gov. Bush.

[Houmatt]

And, by that I mean: voters do care about who will fight crime. If the ACLU should fight any of these new laws, they will be attracting more voters for Gov. Bush.

Perhaps, and perhaps not.

I did not see a similar thing happen in New Jersey when the ACLU challenged Megan's Law on behalf of someone who wanted to continue raping and killing kids in anonymity.

[Harrison Bergeron]

Sorry. I see "Victim's Rights" as contradictory to the traditional rule of law. The issue in the courtroom becomes not whether the accused is guilty or not, but how much the victim suffered and that somebody has to pay - guilty or not.

It's just another liberal feather in the chief's headdress.

[Harrison Bergeron]

"I did not see a similar thing happen in New Jersey when the ACLU challenged Megan's Law on behalf of someone who wanted to continue raping and killing kids in anonymity."

There's no evidence that Megan's Law ever prevented a crime, especially since no child molester would be crazy enough to get within ten miles of a property posted as the home of a ... well... child molester. What Megan's Law did accomplish is a couple of vigilante actions where people where brutally beaten in cases of mistaken identity or guilt by association, as in an innocent parent or sibling of a child molester. Again, it comes down to "victim's rights" running counter to true criminal justice.

[Houmatt]

There's no evidence that Megan's Law ever prevented a crime, especially since no child molester would be crazy enough to get within ten miles of a property posted as the home of a ... well... child molester.

I fail to see the logic of this sentence. You are almost making it sound like people post signs like "a child molester lives here" at random. This, of course, is false.

See, it all comes down to whether it is more important to keep our kids safe from sexual predators or allowing said predators to roam the countryside raping children again and again in complete anonymity. The answer should be rather obvious.

That is why we need something like Megan's Law, and why it works. Every parent, everywhere has the absolute right to know who the predators are and where they live. This is something that should not even be debated.

And I am sorry, but I just cannot feel compassion for the pedophile whose car is blown up, or home set on fire, or is otherwise run out of town because a neighborhood is armed with such knowledge.

[Samwise]

Sorry. I see "Victim's Rights" as contradictory to the traditional rule of law.

I think that's the idea. As great as our system of law is, I think the Founders failed to realize that some people might not want the guilty to be found guilty. The law goes out of its way to protect the falsely accused. These protections are manipulated so well by the guilty and their lawyers thet the correctly accused walk free. Meanwhile, the victim is victimized again. What is wrong with a victim knowing the HIV status of an attacker? And why only minors and old people? That makes no sense to me.

[summer]

And why only minors and old people? That makes no sense to me.

I wondered about that too. Maybe there is already some other provision in place, though I just guessing here.

[summer]

That is why we need something like Megan's Law, and why it works. Every parent, everywhere has the absolute right to know who the predators are and where they live.

I agree.

[summer]

FYI.

[mafree]

GO JEB!!

[Harrison Bergeron]

"And I am sorry, but I just cannot feel compassion for the pedophile whose car is blown up, or home set on fire, or is otherwise run out of town because a neighborhood is armed with such knowledge."

Well, generally, the only address a convict can give to the judge before he gets out of prison is that of the next of kin. Meanwhile, the pervert holes up somewhere else - usually neareby - when he gets out, and Grammas porch gets set ablaze, dad get's beaten with a baseball bat, or mom's kitty gets hung from a lamp post.

Those are the documented results of Megan's Law. If that's your brand of justice, you're no conservative.

[Houmatt]

Well, generally, the only address a convict can give to the judge before he gets out of prison is that of the next of kin. Meanwhile, the pervert holes up somewhere else - usually neareby - when he gets out, and Grammas porch gets set ablaze, dad get's beaten with a baseball bat, or mom's kitty gets hung from a lamp post.

Those are the documented results of Megan's Law.

Really? Then put your money where your mouth is, and provide citiations, with URL's so I can see these things for myself.

And it sounds to me you would much rather have convicted child molesters walking the streets in anonymity, where they can continue to harm kids. If that is your brand of justice, I would not be so quick to call yourself a conservative, either, if you do.