Law reform doesn't happen all by itself. It depends on concerned citizens telling their government representatives what is important to them, what is good and bad about the laws they pass. This page will contain strategies, form letters, and other material that will help you lobby your representative on the issue of sex offender law reform. Please send us your lobbying ideas, and tell us about your lobbying efforts by sending us a comment.

People at the state level or nationally should contact one another by email or in person to begin a lobbying committee aimed at specific proposed state or federal legislation, or at existing laws. It is important to know your own Representative or Senator´s name and his-her committee membership and full address. You may also wish to send a copy of your letter to him-her to your local newspaper. This is especially helpful in small communities. You may also make reference to ReformSexOffenderLaws.Org, and to the many prominent citizens who are joining this effort.

<Insert Address Here>

<Insert Date Here>

To the Honorable <name of U.S. or State Representative or Senator> I am a proud constituent of <name of rep or senator and state> who is writing to ask for your help with issues that are critical to preserving the United States Constitution for an approximate 600,000 people who are Registered Sexual Offenders and to inform you that I do not support <Federal or name of State> efforts to further restrict Registered Sex Offenders.

Below are some statistics that lead me to question the effectiveness of Megan's Law and further restrictions against Registered Sex Offenders:

• Megan's Law and the Wetterling Act were created on the assumption that recidivism is high for Sex Offenders. However, the United States Department of Justice indicated that the recidivism rate for Sex Offenders is 5.3% meaning that 95% of those who are on the registry are not likely to re-offend. In New York (<enter your state statistics here>), the recidivism rate is only 2%.
• The list creates the myth of "stranger danger" but most (93%) of sex offenses are committed by someone known to the victim.
• Research suggests that sex crimes decreased significantly beginning in 1989, before the Wetterling Act and Megan's Law were in place. Again, this brings to question the effectiveness of these laws.
• In Minnesota, the Department of Corrections found that between 1990 and 2002, of the 3,166 sex offenders released from state prisons, only 224 of these were returned to prison for a new sex crime through 2006. The report contains the statement, "Not one of the 224 sex offenses would likely have been deterred by a residency restrictions law."
• Registration requirements, while deemed regulatory by the Supreme Court, continue to punish through ever-changing registration requirements and residency restrictions, leading to ex post facto application of new laws, which I don^̉t have to remind you is unconstitutional and a violation of civil rights.
• While not the explicit intent of the "regulatory" laws, the consequences of these laws are a form of double jeopardy as those Sex Offenders who served their time and paid their dues are facing additional punishment in the form of employment and housing discrimination, being segregated from and run out of their communities, and separated from their families. Double jeopardy also comes into play when Sex Offenders are forced to move from their homes when in violation of residency restrictions and are arrested for violating new residency and registration requirements. My story is an example of this.

<briefly tell your personal story here in one short paragraph>.

I urge you to reconsider your position on Sex Offender Registration Requirements and restrictions. I will not support your decision to support any of the Bills related to additional registration requirements or residency restrictions of Sex Offenders.

Sincerely,

<Insert your name here>