The safety of our children should not be a partisan issue. That is why we have joined together to sponsor laws to deal with sex offenders.
Joseph Duncan murdered the Groene family in Idaho so he could abduct and sexually assault 8-year-old Shasta and her brother Dylan.
Duncan represents the type of sex offender Americans fear the most: a stranger who uses violence against child victims to commit sex crimes. The greatest nightmare of a mother or father is that someone will molest or rape their child.
On the day Duncan’s crime spree was made public, we began working on new laws that would send sex offenders like Duncan to prison for a long, long time.
We worked with police officers, prosecutors and victims to find ways of keeping our families safe from this type of sex offender.
We are making it a point of working in a bipartisan fashion, with Democratic and Republican lawmakers agreeing on the reforms that police and prosecutors say they need the most.
This coming session, we will introduce legislation to protect our families from the most dangerous sex offenders, those people fear the most: those who prey on children.
What’s happened so far
When it comes to dealing with sex offenders, Washington State has a good foundation to build from:
* Washington was one of the first states to require sex offenders to register after their release;
* Washington was the first state to pass a law allowing for the civil commitment of violent sex predators;
* We passed the “Two Strikes, You’re Out,” which means life in prison if convicted for a second serious sex crime;
* In 2001, we restored supervised parole for persons convicted of committing sex crimes;
* In 2004, we updated the Special Sex Offender Sentencing Alternative, primarily used in cases when the sex offender is a family member of the victim. This reform helps prosecutors get convictions in cases where it’s hard to prove a crime because the victim and family members don’t want to testify against the accused.
New reforms
We’re proposing reforms to protect families from sex offenders like Joseph Duncan. A key reform is toughening the sentence for violent sex crimes against children:
* 25 years to life for an offender who commits a violent sex crime against a child; and
* 25 years to life for a stranger who uses force to commit a sex crime against a child.
We will also be increasing penalties during the next session for sex offenders who fail to register, or who lie when they register as homeless but actually have a fixed home.
Additionally, we will be writing legislation:
* renewing the ban on sex offenders living near schools or child care centers;
* requiring registration within 72 hours for sex offenders moving here from other states;
* GPS trackers on the worst sex offenders (Level 3) who are homeless and have offended against a child; and
* requiring those convicted of possessing child pornography to register as sex offenders so local families can be informed and protect themselves.
Stand up and speak out
Despite the support of police, prosecutors and victims, it will be difficult to pass some of these reforms. This is a controversial topic with a long history.
But we believe that toughening the laws dealing with sex offenders should be a bipartisan effort, because we will get much more done to protect our children and our families when both parties work together on this issue instead of using it as a political wedge.
If you care about this issue, add your voice to this debate. Stand up and speak out. Send an e-mail to your local lawmakers or write a letter to the editor. We need the support of citizens like you to get these reforms passed into law.
Rep. Jay Rodne (R-Snoqualmie) is an attorney who serves as the assistant ranking minority member of the House Judiciary Committee. Rep. Al O’Brien (D-Mountlake Terrace) retired after a career as a police officer and police supervisor. He chairs the House Criminal Justice and Corrections Committee.
