Thursday, May 12, 2005

Pink is for Predator

Here's an interesting article that tests the line between civil liberties and the public good. In Ohio, they have a law that requires convicted drunk drivers to have a special license plate identifying them. They want to do the same for sex offenders...

Opponents argue that once they pay their debt, they should not be further stigmatized with the equivalent of a scarlet A around their necks. To a certain extent, I agree. Add to that the fact that if you had a special plate on your car that said "Sex Offender" and you wanted to go out and commit another offense, you wouldn't take that car. Heck, if you wanted to go to a job interview, you wouldn't take it. It would also set these people up for profiling, I'm sure.

Still, it would make it tougher for them to commit those crimes again. And if you did see a car with a sex offender plate near a playground, you are likely going to pay even closer attention assuming you don't leave. What do you think?