Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Senator Linda Higgins - State Laws Regarding Sex Offender Placement
At the August 30th 'Dessert with Don" community forum the featured topic was sex offenders in North Minneapolis. In this video our state Senator Linda Higgins speaks a bit about the state law that references the mitigation of concentration of sex offenders in one area.
As most Johnny Northside readers already know, the state law is too vague and not defined or clear enough to help the northside communities that have become a dumping ground for the bottom of the barrel sex offenders that can't find housing anywhere else.
There is a movement in North Minneapolis to lobby the state legislators and department heads from various angles to get some action taken to rewrite the books to help impacted communities and distribute the burden of housing sex offenders.
Additionally, not on video, Senator Higgins was asked about the State of Minnesota's law regarding publishing, or rather NOT publishing the exact address of sex offenders residence. Her answer was that years ago the legislators decided that since there was some previous instances of angered mobs attacking sex offenders, or possibly attacking the wrong person due to misinformation, the state decided to NOT publish the exact addresses but only name the block on which they live.
She said she does not see this law changing in Minnesota, despite over half of the 50 states in the country choosing to give the exact address. Higgins said that it's likely that everyone on the block in which a sex offender lives, knows exactly what house is occupied by the sex offender. Perhaps the state legislator should consider that choosing to NOT publish the exact address is exactly what leads to misinformation and cases of mistaken identity.
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11 comments:
So as you havent hade free speach friday in a while just want to say I am not Tod Hienz. The JHG can go suck on a pegged leg and go spit splinters. Punk Bitches.
Capt Jack
She seemed to want to turn over the conversation pretty quickly to someone else and sit down before offering any solutions. And she's a state Senator? Go back to grad school Linda, and quit wasting tax payer's money on your salary.
I will try to keep this clean and biting my tongue has been one my character defects. I would have to say that this has been much to my chagrin...fifty percent of the time.It is high time that we published the EXACT addresses where these perverts lay their chomo hats.What the hell is wrong with our society these days that we protect psychotics who maim,rape and kill?What the hell is the upside to all of this? Why are the majority of them being warehoused in the North Minneapolis area and not the Kenwood area or the Linden Hills area or ANY other area. I do not want to behold the excuses because the practice is f%#%!@* wrong and any reason is designed and based in the notion that the person asking is a dumbass for asking at all. QUIT treating North Minneapolis like it's a piece of shit, you heartless,biased, and condescending misfits and cease the mind games.
I do not agree with the Folwell Fox. Linda spoke towards end and was told to keep it short.
Oh, also...
Those folks on the block who know where the sex offenders live should provide this blog the information and documentation, so we can publish it here.
NoMi Passenger wrote: "As most Johnny Northside readers already know, the state law is too vague and not defined or clear enough",
Now I'm confused, because that's not what John Hoff has been saying. He has told us that the law is clear and that sex offenders can't be stockpiled in NoMi.
NoMi Passenger wrote: "Perhaps the state legislator should consider that choosing to NOT publish the exact address is exactly what leads to misinformation and cases of mistaken identity."
That's not what you stated before. Previously you wanted us to call landlords and protest that they were renting to sex offenders, and that we didn't want them in the neighborhood.
JNS needs to get the story and plan of action straight!
The law is very clear. What's vague and not defined is how the very clear law will actually be enforced and have some teeth. THAT is not defined. Both statements are correct. Great that we're having this discussion about the law.
Now...I need the addresses of some sex offenders, so I can write about their landlords.
Bullshit Johnny. She's even speaking in iambic pentameter. ta - DA - ta - DA - ta - DA - ta - DA - ta - DA. Fucking Christ on a biscuit! I know where the guy on my block lives. If I don't have legal absolution why would I tell you his address so close to deer season?
Sorry for the comment last night, I had a few too many. I am rapidly loosing faith in Nomi and its leadership though. Fixing the sex offender placement and the rental licensure issues are paramount in Nomi's recovery, and I do not see either of them being fixed anytime soon, or being addressed adequately (such as Linda Higgins' reciting of the law). It's our reps. against the entire state, and I have not seen a single one carry a big enough stick on our behalf. You would think this is an easy fix, but it's a constant nature vs. nurture situation in Nomi. By that I mean; people either believe that their actions do not contribute to negative outcomes for North, or simply feel that they are not a part of the problem, and if it's ignored it will fix itself. I say that about funny noises with my car, but does that work? No. It's also a matter of perception. We're not the "apple in the eye" of the city, so what's the incentive for them to invest resources here? We need tough leadership and laws so the dumping in North of those only worthy of Soylant green stops. So "normal" civic-minded people move here, or at the very least people who don't use Nomi as their toilet. Your take on publishing the addresses is probably a good place to start, and I would say that it has to be followed up with picketing and protest at those locations. I would also like to see the city make it very hard and expensive for landlords to operate in Nomi. Absent landlords continue to treat Nomi as a joke, now it should be our turn. NO MORE RENTAL LICENSES ISSUED IN NORTH MPLS. PERIOD. This act alone, I feel, would solve 90% of our problems. I'm not saying all renters are bad, but in North we're a little more delicate than most places in the city. We have people that can't even function in their own families properly, let alone our community. We need more people that actually have a stake in Nomi, and less of those that just chew-up what they can and move on after they wear out their welcome. I'm not leaving Nomi without a fight, and I really don't care who I piss off. This is war. I have paid my dues over the last sixteen years in this city and I WILL NOT be chased to the burbs. Those tea-bagging Michele Bachmann supporters irritate me more than the random stupidity of North, but my self-medication technique is exhausting.
FF,
I sympathize with your frustration and I am sure I'm not the only one. At the same time, I would submit that it's not Linda Higgins's fault. She is but one of many legislators, as you noted, and her influence is limited. Same goes for Don Samuels.
The times that I have waited for government to fix my problems I have always ended up disappointed. However, I have also found that, as the trite-but-true Margaret Mead saying goes, a small group of people can change the world.
We can be one of those small groups of people. Indeed I think we already are. Look at how NOMI has changed over the past two years... I find it inspiring.
I agree with your idea about a moratorium on rental licenses. It's going to be tough to get, but know that other affected neighborhoods have considered this as well, so it's not like it's totally off-the-wall. If enough residents get motivated and push for it, it's possible.
In sum, I know it can be tough living here sometimes. Every now and then the combination of irritating factors becomes overwhelming and it's tempting to throw up your hands and scream. But take heart. There are lots of us here who care and are motivated for change. This blog has cast a spotlight on our neighborhoods and the issues we face, and people have come out of the woodwork to support a better North Minneapolis.
We can make it happen.
Higgins "believes" that L3SO addresses aren't identified because of angry mobs blah, blah, blah. I'd like to know the file number(s) of the criminal case(s) for those incidents. I don't believe any such thing ever happened. How about trying to get Higgins to back up her comment? Maybe if she saw that her "belief" is incorrect, she could be persuaded that this isn't such a bad idea. Rather like what happened with the blog discussion on this issue vis-a-vis Hawthorne Hawkman.
And why doesn't Higgins just introduce the legislation and let it get shot down if identifying L3SO's by address is such a bad idea? At least she would look like she made the effort rather than joining in the rest of the state in expecting NOMI to sit down and shut up.
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