I read in the newspaper this morning that Ontario is considering creating a website listing the names and addresses of registered sex offenders. At present, Alberta is the only province in Canada that has a website listing names and photos of registered sex offenders but it doesn't list their addresses.
Of course, there are naysayers who think this is a terrible invasion of the sex offenders privacy but who the hell cares? If you know that a sex offender lives nearby you will take more precautions. We all like to bury our heads in the sand and think that none of our neighbors could be convicted criminals but that's very unwise.
A case in point...my daughter lives in Florida where they do have a registered sex offender website and it does give the city or town where the offender lives. My daughter happened to check the site out one day and discovered that one of the men listed was the father of a friend of her young daughter. Suppose the little girl invited my granddaughter to a sleepover at her house and my daughter innocently let her go? This is the main reason why we need a website with information on sex offenders living in our area.
Sex offenders do have some rights but they shouldn't supercede the rights of the innocent. Citizens have a right to know who is unsafe to be around. Our children have a divine right to be protected at all costs. If a website upsets a registered sex offender then they should have exerted some self control and not offended in the first place.
I hope Ontario gains this website and I'll bet quite a few people will be surprised at who will be featured on it.
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