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| ACLU Challenges Albuquerque Sex Offender Law |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 05/02/2003 |
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Civil rights lawyers challenged Albuquerque's tough new sex offender law recently, claiming it's the most restrictive in the nation and effectively banishes pedophiles, rapists and other former sex criminals from the city. 'Extreme and radical, those are the words that should be used to describe this law,' said Peter Simonson, executive director of New Mexico's ACLU chapter, which filed the complaint. Mayor Martin Chavez signed the law April 21 after the City Council's unanimous approval weeks earlier. Chavez said the plan was part of a citywide crackdown on sex offenders, saying it is aimed at protecting 'the most innocent among us.' It could take effect as soon as this week. 'We are confident that we drafted an ordinance that will survive a challenge,' City Attorney Bob White said recently. The ordinance calls for pedophiles, rapists and other sex offenders convicted since 1970 to register with the city and notify employers they have registered. They also would have to submit DNA samples, shoe size and dental imprints. Sex offenders could not be alone with a child or live within 1,000 feet of a school. With some exceptions, no two sex offenders could live in the same house. And police could visit registered sex offenders' homes to make sure they lived where they said they did. Supporters said the ordinance is based on similar laws in effect in other parts of the country. But Simonson accused the mayor of taking 'the most repressive pieces of those policies' and packaging them into one ordinance, which is tougher than the state's current sex offender law. Child safety advocates offered support for Albuquerque's new ordinance, saying it's important for parents to have access to information about people who could be a danger to the community. 'It's a very proactive measure that this mayor has taken,' said Laura Ahearn, executive director of Parents for Megan's Law, a Long Island, New York,-based advocacy group. Among other claims, the ACLU complaint says provisions of the law violate plaintiffs' rights to be free of unwarranted search and seizure as well as their rights to acquire, possess and protect property. |
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