Anaheim, CA. The American Civil Responsibilities Union, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, today applauded the California Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Jessica’s Law, passed by voters in November 2006. The law protects children from convicted sex-offenders by prohibiting them from living within 2,000 feet of a park or school. The main purpose of the statute is to protect children from the threat of recidivism.

ACRU also responded to an article by Shannon Moriarty called, “California Court Upholds Jessica’s Law…Sort Of”, published on the website: www.homelessness.change.org.

Ms. Moriarty demonstrates her paramount concern with this court decision by indicating that this law “…has further limited the already sparse number of affordable housing options for ex-offenders, causing thousands to become homeless.”

ACRU finds this to be an outrageous position. While we share Ms. Moriarty’s concern for homelessness in general, we are less concerned with the plight of these sex-offenders than we are about protecting our children from them. Ms. Moriarty goes on to say that “…we can all agree that convicted criminals, including sex offenders, should be punished for their crimes,” but that, “Those who have served their time in prison should not have to face a second sentence of homelessness on the streets.”

It is the position of ACRU that the violent criminals, which sex-offenders are, should forever remain “suspect” and that the purpose of prison for them is not to pay for their crimes, but to separate them from the rest of us.

The following is a bumper sticker that relates to Bill O'Reilly's "no Spin" approach to the law.