10 Things You Didn't Know About Susan Collins

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She is queer

Bobby of TX 10:14PM December 20, 2010

She supports putting juvenile sex offender on the National Internet Registry, Adam Walsh's 'MURDER' Law?

Collins says, "I think it's important to remember that this law serves a very important purpose as far as protecting our children."

Thursday, January 7, 2010

New findings on juvenile sex offending

Sexually Violent Predator laws have so colored our perceptions that we often ignore a more typical type of sex offender -- the kid next-door. Indeed, of known sex offenders against children, more than a third are other juveniles, according to a new study commissioned by the Justice Department.

Most of these young offenders are not pedophiles or sexual deviants. Rather, they are sexual experimenters, date rapists, and boys who commit sexual assaults as part of a group. Risk of sexual acting out increases sharply as boys enter puberty, and plateaus at age 14, according to the study. The overwhelming majority of youths apprehended for sexual misconduct -- an estimated 85-95 percent -- have no further arrests for sex offenses.

This suggests that new federal rules placing juveniles on public sex offender registries are counterproductive, as the broad majority of youthful sex offenders will mature out of offending and should not be stigmatized for life. Rather, says study co-author David Finkelhor, director of the Crimes Against Children Research Center, early sex education is a key to preventing youthful sexual misconduct.

Even as U.S. states get set to implement the registration and reporting requirements of the Adam Walsh Protection and Safety Act this year, under penalty of losing grants if they do not comply, a subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee is receiving testimony about problems with the registry.

"There are some very compelling cases that ... don't rise to the threshold of a predator and shouldn't be on the register," Republican Representative Tonya Schuitmaker of Michigan, a member of the committee, told the Michigan Herald-Palladium. "Unfortunately, they get lumped in with the predators."

The newspaper cited as an example the case of a 17-year-old boy who perfectly illustrates the juvenile study findings:

Since committing his offenses between the ages of 12-14, he has not had any further problems. He successfully completed probation and 200 hours of public service work and he excels in school, where he plays several sports. Yet, when he turns 18 his name will be placed on a registry that will stigmatize him until his 40s.

Gloria Gillespie, a sex offender therapist, told the newspaper that the boy's offenses were exploratory, and he is not a predator at risk of committing new offenses.

ON A RELATED NOTE: For a judicial analysis of the punitive and stigmatizing impact of the federal reporting law (SORNA), see the Maine Supreme Court opinion in Maine v. Letalien. Eric S. Letalien was 19 years old when he was convicted of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl. He was sentenced to prison and placed on a public regist

Honest Opinion of NJ 10:04PM May 08, 2010

I think she "sandbagged" the Dems on Healh care?

Jim Erwin of MI 3:23PM February 04, 2010

Susan Collins' logic is as shaky as her voice! She doesn't know the basic tenets of the U.S. Constitution. Based on her statements on 2/3/10, she could not pass a high school class on the Constitution. She offers only misstatements. How awful. The people of Maine who think, must be cringing.

LXG of OR 2:33AM February 04, 2010

She is also one of the most missinformed Senators in D.C. believing that the American Constitution protects only Americans. She should read Boumedienne v. Bush; Supreme Court decision in 2008.

Luis Rafael Pereira of NC 5:11PM February 03, 2010

Collins would consider being a "stateswoman" and not stand in a bloc with her party-mates to filibuster health care and financial regulatory reforms? Nah. Not so far anyway.

Muser of NM 9:17PM February 02, 2010

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