Comments on Advance Indiana™: Kennedy Teams Up With Anti-Gay Bigot To Bar Sex Offenders From City Parks

I have a degree in criminal justice and if we want...

2006-12-06T13:41:00.000-05:00

I have a degree in criminal justice and if we want sex offenders to stop offending then we have to let them have that rehab opportunity without lifelong rehab. If their punishment lasts forever in anyway, then they wont value the freedom they have and may continue to offend. This is close to my heart because I have been offended against and my husband has been accused and found guilty of offending when he is innocent. The witnesses all lied in their own testimonies on the stand. Not only did they contradict themselves but they contradicted each other, the mom of a witness got on the stand and was impeached by my husbands lawyer, And the jury still found him guilty. Things that are obviously made up were accepted. For instance these are 4 girls, all said my husband took them to the park and asked them to do cartwheels with thier pants down. Some said 1 girl did it some said none, some said 2 did. How would you not know the right number if that really happened. Secondly, you try doing a cartwheel with your pants at your ankles and see how successful you are. Get real! Believe me we will be appealing this and make a laughing stock of the prosecutors office on national news. We are still waiting for the sentencing but this tells you how many innocent men are found guilty when they are not.

We wouls like to post your signs.

2006-10-28T05:19:00.000-05:00

We wouls like to post your signs.

I had no idea that President Bush had taken a stan...

2006-07-14T21:39:00.000-05:00

I had no idea that President Bush had taken a stand on this issue. He's the anti-gay bigot you're talking about, right?

I am gay, and I would never consider voting for Ca...

2006-07-14T21:34:00.000-05:00

I am gay, and I would never consider voting for Carl Brizzi. It has nothing to do with his stance on glbt issues or how he has passed whatever policies in his office. I am not voting for Carl Brizzi because he's been a poor prosecutor. He wants to blame everyone else for his office's problems when they are his own completely.

Therefore, I will not vote for Carl Brizzi. I will vote for Melina Kennedy. I also don't think Mary Moriarty-Adams is necessarily an anti-gay bigot just because she didn't vote for the Human Rights Ordinance.

THIS IS WHY WE ONLY HAVE A ONE SEAT MAJORITY ON TH...

2006-03-31T15:02:00.000-05:00

THIS IS WHY WE ONLY HAVE A ONE SEAT MAJORITY ON THE COUNCIL. BECAUSE LEFTIST/WEAK-ASSES LIKE ADVANCE INDIANA PUSH AN AGENDA THAT IS NOT REPRESENTATIVE OF THE MAJORITY OF HOOSIERS.

P.S.: ITS ALSO WHY GEORGE BUSH IS IN THE WHITE HOUSE AND JOHN KERRY IS NOT.

So, thanks Gary. I really appreciate all that you've done to help Democrats who actually want to win, like myself, lose.

If you believe you should be able to discriminate ...

2006-03-30T16:50:00.000-05:00

If you believe you should be able to discriminate against a person in housing, employment and public accomodations because of their sexual orientation, as does Adams, yes, I believe you are a bigot-no different than if you favored the same king of discrimination because of someone's skin color, ethnicity or religion. I believe that a person might in good conscience oppose gay marriage but otherwise support equal rights for gays--in which case I would not desribe them as a bigot. But that would depend on how they used that opposition. So many politicians use the gay marriage issue as a wedge issue to play on people's hatred towards gays rather than as a matter of good conscience.

So, advance indiana, what your saying is that if A...

2006-03-30T16:33:00.000-05:00

So, advance indiana, what your saying is that if ANYBODY for reasons of conscience disagree with any part of GLBT agenda, they are as a result bigots. Guess that means that the over 50% of Americans who oppose gay marriage are bigots.

Yes--Adams voted her conscience all right when it ...

2006-03-28T12:16:00.000-05:00

Yes--Adams voted her conscience all right when it came to the HRO, just like all those Southern Democrats in Congress did to block passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Her bigotry towards gays and lesbians is what's "mean and nasty."

It must feel good (though definitely hypocritical)...

2006-03-28T09:51:00.000-05:00

It must feel good (though definitely hypocritical) to viciously attack people who vote their conscience.

The human rights ordinance was put up for a vote only because Moriarty-Adams voted with the majority to actually bring the vote to the floor of the council.

This kind of attack is mean, nasty, and exactly the kind of thing one would expect the GLBT community to stand against.

I'm curious, when Carl says that he want to know w...

2006-03-28T07:40:00.000-05:00

I'm curious, when Carl says that he want to know where they are "when they come out of jail," does he mean escape, when he doesn't then press charges, giving a free pass, agian being weak on crime?

Ken Falk of the ICLU has this to say about the pro...

2006-03-28T07:23:00.000-05:00

Ken Falk of the ICLU has this to say about the proposal:

The city proposal, however, has flaws, said Ken Falk, the legal director of the ACLU of Indiana. Although narrower than the restriction in Plainfield, the ordinance is still not "qualitatively different."

One problem with both, he said, is the attempt to take away a person's right to use a public space without direct cause, such as drinking or lewd behavior.

He said adding a civil punishment to a past crime is another problem.
Such restrictions can be counterproductive, Falk said, if offenders are given no options to reintegrate into society.

"Where does it end?" he said. "Ultimately, that's not helpful to the offender or society. We'll end up in urban areas with sex offender ghettos."

Carl Brizzi spoke for himself today on this matter...

2006-03-28T07:21:00.000-05:00

Carl Brizzi spoke for himself today on this matter. The Star writes:

Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi, a Republican who testified on behalf of the state law, said the high rate of repeat offenses among sex offenders necessitated the registry and further restrictions.

"I think it's hard to pile on a crime that's so vile, where the victim is so young," Brizzi said. "I want to throw the book at them, and when they come out of jail, I want to know where they are."

See the updated story at: http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060328/NEWS02/603280434

IMO, I think the registry, and the park ordinance ...

2006-03-28T03:59:00.000-05:00

IMO, I think the registry, and the park ordinance are bs attacks on a personal freedom. I'm of the opinion that if you think these crimes are of such a serious nature... give them long sentences. Life? I'd be ok with that. Either they've paid their dues to society or they haven't.

actually, the prosecutors should file charges agia...

2006-03-27T23:11:00.000-05:00

actually, the prosecutors should file charges agianst priests, but perhaps they were taking lessons from Carl Brizzi, giving weak pleas and allowing his failed policies to let crime escalate...

"it seems prudent to ban pedophiles from parks "bu...

2006-03-27T21:50:00.000-05:00

"it seems prudent to ban pedophiles from parks "

but apparently not the priesthood, just shuffle them off to another parish. (What's with all the P's? I feel like I'm trapped in some warped Dr. Suess book :)

"Do you have children? You might be more concerned about a sex offender living next to you if you did."

No, I don't have kids. I DO believe if I had kids, they would be my responsibility. By that I mean it is my job to keep an eye on them until they are old enough to fend for themselves.

If they don't understand "good touch - bad touch", if they don't know what it means to look both ways before crossing the street, if they don't know how to say no to drugs, it is MY job to teach them. It is my job to give them freedoms as they understand these things, but still "keep an eye out" to make sure they apply what they have learned.

That means talking to them about what they are doing, taking an active role in their lives, etc. We can't just expect to turn them loose and have society take care of everything for them.

The problem with the sex offender laws is that there is a HUGE difference between statutory rape or even peeping tom/pee wee herman types and the person that sits across the street from the school watching the kids get on the bus and planning which one they are going to abduct, rape, and possibly kill.

If we register them all, and ban them all from parks (btw, why just parks? Kids are everywhere) how would anyone know which ones are actually dangerous? What about the ones that have never been caught? They can still go to the park.

I've already said I'm no lawyer, and I'm not a psych person either, but I believe I read somewhere that this is more about power and control than anything. If we say to the offender "you have a lifetime sentence - always have this GPS thing, no parks, etc" I'm thinking that could make them feel out of control and therefore increase their need to control something. Just a guess.

Here's the laundry list of sexual offenders requir...

2006-03-27T21:11:00.000-05:00

Here's the laundry list of sexual offenders required to register in Indiana:

Sec. 4. (a) As used in this chapter, "offender" means a person convicted of any of the following sex and violent offenses:
(1) Rape (IC 35-42-4-1).
(2) Criminal deviate conduct (IC 35-42-4-2).
(3) Child molesting (IC 35-42-4-3).
(4) Child exploitation (IC 35-42-4-4(b)).
(5) Vicarious sexual gratification (IC 35-42-4-5).
(6) Child solicitation (IC 35-42-4-6).
(7) Child seduction (IC 35-42-4-7).
(8) Sexual misconduct with a minor as a Class A, Class B, or Class C felony (IC 35-42-4-9).
(9) Incest (IC 35-46-1-3).
(10) Sexual battery (IC 35-42-4-8).
(11) Kidnapping (IC 35-42-3-2), if the victim is less than eighteen (18) years of age.
(12) Criminal confinement (IC 35-42-3-3), if the victim is less

than eighteen (18) years of age.
(13) Possession of child pornography (IC 35-42-4-4(c)) if the person has a prior unrelated conviction for possession of child pornography (IC 35-42-4-4(c)).
(14) An attempt or conspiracy to commit a crime listed in subdivisions (1) through (13).
(15) A crime under the laws of another jurisdiction, including a military court, that is substantially equivalent to any of the offenses listed in subdivisions (1) through (14).
(b) The term includes a child who has committed a delinquent act and who:
(1) is at least fourteen (14) years of age;
(2) is on probation, is on parole, is discharged from a facility by the department of correction, is discharged from a secure private facility (as defined in IC 31-9-2-115), or is discharged from a juvenile detention facility as a result of an adjudication as a delinquent child for an act that would be an offense described in subsection (a) if committed by an adult; and
(3) is found by a court by clear and convincing evidence to be likely to repeat an act that would be an offense described in subsection (a) if committed by an adult.

Kevin--generally, the category you refer to aren't...

2006-03-27T21:01:00.000-05:00

Kevin--generally, the category you refer to aren't required to register, even though they are considered sex offenders. However, those offenses can become aggravated and elevated to a felony if you have priors, such as in soliciting prostitution, voyeurism, etc.

I'm no legal expert, but doesn't the term "sex off...

2006-03-27T20:54:00.000-05:00

I'm no legal expert, but doesn't the term "sex offender" cut a wide swath? In other words we shouldn't always jump to conclusions that all of these people are rapists and pedophiles. If someone is arrested for indecent exposure (a la pee wee herman at the adult video store) don't they then have to register as "sex offenders"? For that matter, an officer with an ax to grind could arrest any number of young men in Broad Ripple taking a leak in public as they so often do.

Do you have children? You might be more concerned ...

2006-03-27T20:40:00.000-05:00

Do you have children? You might be more concerned about a sex offender living next to you if you did.

Brody--I don't speak for Carl Brizzi on anything. ...

2006-03-27T19:37:00.000-05:00

Brody--I don't speak for Carl Brizzi on anything. You should address that question to him.

As an aside, when the state first put up the sex o...

2006-03-27T19:35:00.000-05:00

As an aside, when the state first put up the sex offender website with photos, I looked to see if there were any living in my neighborhood--there were several--including one guy who lives in a townhouse right next to my building in Lockerbie, which is a nice neighborhood. I would have never known he was a sex offender but for that website. When President Bush drove past our neighborhood when he was in town for the Sodrel fundraiser, that neighbor was standing along the street waving at the President's motorcade. I mentioned to one of my neighbors that he was on the sex offender registry list (which in hindsight I probably shouldn't have done), and my neighbor was surprised to learn it. He had always thought of him as a harmless old guy--I'm guessing the guy is in his 70s. I don't know the specifics of his crime, but I am a lot less threatened having him as a neighbor than a lot of other people I can think of.

does Advance Indiana want to go on record for Carl...

2006-03-27T19:33:00.000-05:00

does Advance Indiana want to go on record for Carl Brizzi defending sexual predators?

Article I, Section 18 of the Indiana Constitution ...

2006-03-27T19:23:00.000-05:00

Article I, Section 18 of the Indiana Constitution reads: "The penal code shall be founded on the principles of reformation, and not of vindictive justice."

Paula and anonymous--very well said. I think you b...

2006-03-27T19:16:00.000-05:00

Paula and anonymous--very well said. I think you both sum up the problem well--we are singling out sex offenders to be punished over and over again, while treating other more violent criminal offenders differently. The famous boxing promoter Don King actually served time in prison for manslaughter--killling someone is a pretty serious offense. After serving time, he managed to pull his act together and become a huge success. Can you imagine how he could have done it if he had all of the obstacles placed in front of him that sexual offenders are confronted with today in trying to get their lives together after serving their sentences?

Without having read the ordinance, I think Melina ...

2006-03-27T19:12:00.000-05:00

Without having read the ordinance, I think Melina is on to something, it seems prudent to ban pedophiles from parks (where children should be free to play, not be played). As for Ms. Adams vote on a seperate issue, it is just that, a seperate issue. Melina Kennedy is by no means anti-gay. However, Carl Brizzi might not be anti-perv. I seem to remember a few too many scandals in his office