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It's No Holiday for Sex Offenders

It's Halloween, and that means it's time for another round-up of "cracking-down-on-sex-offenders" stories: Washington Post: Md. Pays a Holiday Checkup on Child Sex ...

trickortreat.jpg It's Halloween, and that means it's time for another round-up of "cracking-down-on-sex-offenders" stories:

Washington Post: Md. Pays a Holiday Checkup on Child Sex Offenders

WISC (Madison, WI): Sex Offenders Banned From Halloween Activities

Orlando Sentinel: Sex offenders are warned to avoid trick-or-treaters

The State (Columbia, SC): Halloween curfew set for sex offenders

CNN: Sex offenders locked down, in the dark for Halloween

The list goes on and on.

I've said it before, and I know this might not be a popular opinion, but I think this is really just overblown hysteria. Sex offenders aren't more threatening to kids on October 31st than October 30th or November 1st. And there's still never been a documented case of a child being molested while trick-or-treating.

Must we quarantine these sex offenders, who have already served their time in jail? Must we demand that they turn their lights off on Halloween? And make them post "No Candy" signs? And require them to stay indoors? And prohibit them from throwing parties? Or corral them under police control?





Zach Patton -- Executive Editor. Zach joined GOVERNING as a staff writer in 2004. He received the 2011 Jesse H. Neal Award for Outstanding Journalism
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