OCR Text |
Show pie Tuesday, August 2, 2005 DAILY HERALD as | EDITORIAL Donald W. Meyers, Editorial page editor Ken Baldridge. Public adviser INOUR VIEW PANGScenekee All sex offenders — are not equal he tiff between an granddaughter. Orem Web design company and the State of Utah over the accuracy of the sex offender registry diverts attention from an important issue. While accuracy is obviously It's highly unlikely that Green will offend again, while Swensen is dangerous enoughthat the state has denied him parole twice. Yet in the Utah sex offender registry, youcan’t tell the difference. The fault doesn't lie with the De- important, so is a bit of data that does not appear on the registry — the levelof risk a potential sex partmentof Corrections. Corrections officials arelimited in what they can do with the list by state werecreated in the mid-1990s after for evaluating a sex offender's po- the murderof a New Jerseygirl by a convicted sex offender who lived next door. The goal was to give people the information they | need to protect their families from predators. Nobody expectsthe lists tential for reoffending. The original intent of the law was to provide the public with information on sex offendersin their neighborhoods.Asfar as that goes, the state's intention is good. offender poses to the public. Public sex offender registries ~ | | law. Andthe law that created the list does not contain any provision to be a cure-all, but they are a valu- But there’s room for improvement. abletool. Moststate registries give some Simply providing a blanketlist ofsex offenders without ranking indication of how dangerous a them according to risk doesn't give particular offenderis to the public. NewJersey, the home of “Megan’s Law,” only posts the names of those who have a moderate-to-high risk of offending again. Likewise, Washingtonstate-only lists offenders that are deemed morelikely to reoffend. Nevada requires all sex offenders to register but only provides public notification about the ones most likely to pose a threat, and residents the tools they need to know whether someoneis still dangerous, There are alwaysdegrees. A person whose momentary impulsesled to anoffenseis not the same as, say a memberof the organized child molestation ring, ~| such as the onerecently cracked | in France. Norareall offenses the same. | Treating them as though they wereleads the public frequently to thenonly within the offender's neighborhood and among those who arelikely tocome in contact with him. The state does notify schools about moderate-risk offenders wholive inthe area. Idaho putsall sex offenders onits public registry, but indicates which ones are considered violent predators, as well as indicating which offenders have not reported their addresses to the state. Butin Utah, all sex offenders are lumped together without regard forto risk. Yi overreact. It's also notfair to low-risk offenders. Someone may have com- t LE | | The one who says John Robertsis | “the kindofjudgethatall of us want | — someone committed to applying the | lawsimpartially rather than legislating | from the bench?” | Or the one thatvoted to confirm Ruth | Bader Ginnsberg, who openly saysthat | the Constitution is outdated and brags that by her votes she helped establish the rejected Women’s Equal Rights Amendment,including abortion without much;corrections officials know whether an offenderis dangerous through sex-offender therapy and through common cae a simply | Tom Green, who was convicted ofchild rape in 1986,is on the register. The girl he is alleged to have raped was 13 but todayis his wife, and she remains his most in the registry. This should not cost —_a matter of carrying that knowl- edgeoverto another forum. With a properrisk assessment, —_Utah’s sex-offenderregistry will become a moreusefultool for protecting families. . loyal supporter. Also on the reg: ister is Eugene H. Swensen, who was convicted of two counts each of sodomyofa child and sexually assaulting children,including his MEDIA VOICES . 1 Terrorists € 2) aC 26 attacked tour ist t ade Israeli tensions pentiment inthe West, shifted their sive publicity worldwide that Arab holidaymakers, disapinted at perceived anti-Muslim as an alternative dessights to tiation: Seas few months, there has been a noticeablerise in tourist arrivals in the country. Egypt's tourismis set to feelthe pinch. Hence,the importance of + fee id t Prescription for recovery should include, among other things, masdespite everything, Egypt remains a cafe and miesatiate: Terrorism has becomea globalthreat, which, however, should not be allowed to besiege people of the , world. { f ki | ier. 5 CEP SLETOICS OUL OL KIGS TEAC ., < | temple marriage not doctrine Recently, several writers have sensibly suggested that couples make an | effort to be inclusive in their wedding seleegion ay ee haveaoe emony which would include ly Unfortunately, Utah couples are discouraged from this one comromise by a churchpolicy requiring | eee waiting pened in between. This waiting period is not a church-wide policy. Thereis no such requirementin the United Kingdom, most of Europe, Japan andpartsof the United States. The Church Handbookstates: “Some areas require that a marriage ceremony ae S 2 t | _! respec i} ¢ Lora Mengucci GUEST hom ith. I believe that people f | should havethe truth from a moreaccurate source. The Churchof Scientology realized | its ownspiritual nature in 1954, and in| dividuals established the church, and L. | Ron Hubbard as founder. He was a philosopher, writer, humanitarian, explorer andlived life fully. He loved mankind and wanted to help individuals realize their ownabilities. In trying toexplain what Scientol- bs DAL, BUT1 I °V . Li arding myreligion. The article was not ae ~z, & ” og aa = excluded from temple weddings. Obviously, churchleaders are awareof the aa their policy creates. Eliminating this policy would allow for both aninclusive celebration and the sacred rite without hurting thoseofdiffering views. Dd Jolene Arnoff, indon === -— How to comment es E-mail letters to ae . ee on ogy is, many try Joconte it to oie religions.It is not like any otherreligion you haveever encountered.Itis a religion that canbe applied tolife. Contained in the material of Scientology are answersto questions suchas: Whoare we? Whatis the purposeof all restrprrayal OPINION irretheanowestothseques The task force he untilDec, e to aa the Sie and ee a teenage steroid use, as well as t legality and practicality of testing high schoolathletes. The task forcealso is supposed _to develop a statewide steroid education program andinvestigate the peesof other performance enhancers,including nutritional supplements and humangrowth hormones. MUCK a eSe as re eons te nee of steroid testing for high etal athletes She apar to be a no-brainer. Quite simTy, steroids have noplacein high schoolsports, yet a national survey last year foundthat3.4 percent of high schoolseniors admitted to taking steroids at least once — a aniincrease from a similar survey inthe early 1990s.... Steroids not only give athletes an unfair advantage,but these drugs DOONESBURY: Garry Trudeau & \" d veryday statements are made that denigrate others’ beliefs. Being a transplant to Utah,I have had manythings said to me aboutthe LDSreligion a res performed by publicofficial. In these cases,the temple sealing necessarily followsthecivil marriage as soon as possible.” Clearly, there is no doctrinal basis requiring a waiting period of any length. Anarticle in the February Ensign magazine advised couples how they might soothe thehurt feelings of those ; | pose health risks such as high blood pressure,heart attacks,liver cancerandviolent rages — and thoseeffects become magnified and morelikely to do permanent damagein teenagers. The greatest deterrenttosteroid r / cen O ogy | @/ %, and friends (regardless ofreligious af- From The (Bergen County, N.J.) Record, July 25, 2005 —$ cting (N.J.) Governor Codey deserves credit for creating the first-in-the-nation state task forceto look into steroid use use is the fear of getting caught 4 » Warren Hardy, Provo is that Mormons have manywives.Since people doit understandthe religion,or parts of the history of the LDSfaith, many misconceptions can be strewn aboutlike chicken feed. Beinga practicing Scientologist, I noted that your papercarried an article re-__ high school athletes. i GAY ———— Waiting period betweencivil, . fata tienatsenal economy. 2 . restriction? filiation)priorto templesealing. tS working out a contingencyplan From The Egyptian Gazette, to help the vital industry weather Cairo,July 26 the storm.Egyptiantourism overcamein the pastlocal and regional key aim on the agenda of those behind the devastating crises.It showed its resilience in the aftermathof the slaying of 58 attacksin the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheik was to unforeign tourists in anattack in the derminethethriving tourism. The southerncity of aeeatthe industry, a majorforeign currency pastfive years, the hardy industry _hasflourished despite Palestinianearner, pumped over US$6billion Ki Whichis the real Orrin Hatch? mitted a relatively minor offense, suchas urinating in public within sight of a child, and may be trying _to put his life back on track, But because he’s listed on the registry, he finds himself treated as adan—_gerous animalby his neighbors and prospective employers. The Legislature shouldrevisit this issue in January and authorize a risk assessment for offenders listed - ——— The Globettotter Will real Sen. Hatch stand up? | | H RS tions are as follows: You area spiritual being,distinct and separate from a body You are seeking survival for yourself, your family, mankind,life, the physical universe andto survive as a spirit. Only when you haveattained thatlevel of spiritual enlightenmentwill you come to truly understand the Creatorof the Uni- 10 344-29 Mail to P.O. Box 717, Provo, UT 84603. P Letters mustinclude the author's full name, address and daytimephone number. 2 zi ee eeee may beeded for nth » Writers are encouraged to include their occupation and other personalinformation. » Becauseof the volumeof letters, wecannot acknowledge unpublished letters. Cara P Letters become the property of the Daily Herald. verse orinfinite. as oute lived lifetimeafterlifetime, and will live again. that help them achievetheir purposes This may soundfamiliar to those and greater happiness. with some backgroundin the Eastern Thereis virtually no part of existence religious traditions, Whatis different in Scientology cannotbe applied to. of means and on,a the wave — — achieving those goals. Scientology is a modernreligion, born» Lora Mengucci is the Director of Special Affairs, Churchof in the technical age of the 20th century. a parishioner Utahandis Scientology, have they that you tell Scientologistswill foundtools to usein their day to day life for 29 years. MALLARDFILLMORE: Bruce Tinsley Hello?‘ RX FAR ASSURE YOU MEEATSHAT REHND US. v SupreMme-COURT SeeweLEAVING tHe CourT "AND OFENIN'A TIKi FAR IN GEORGETONN. FE». 4 JvsTice FREER... |