I am currently one of those "convicted sex offenders." I was accused of something very stupid and I did my sentence. Through it all, I lost my wife, my kids, and my career. Because of an idiotic technicality, I am listed for life which probably means about 45-50 years for me. Countless research shows that people who have paid their price to society and have participated in therapeutic programs are far less likely to commit a sex offense than the average citizen. When will the public, the lawmakers and the increasingly vindictive media going get this through their heads? These registries and actions by such companies as MySpace are clearly a violation of people's privacy and civil liberties, yet no one seems to care. I currently use MySpace, you know to talk to friends legitimately, but I don't guess I will much longer. Others I've told about this have vowed to stop using MySpace as well. Thanks to efforts like those by MySpace, my state has now passed legislation that will require all of us [registered offenders] to relinquish our email addresses, internet IDs, and passwords, giving the state access to my personal information including communications with my attorneys and financial records. Somebody please explain to me how this will protect anyone. I don't want to see anyone become a victim of a sex crime, but I believe preventing sex crimes will only be accomplished by educating people, especially young people and parents, on how to prevent sexual abuse. Perhaps if more parents actually paid attention to what their kids are doing, both on and off the internet, kids would have more protection.

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