3-2-15 National:by Barbara Gale, Guest Columnist
My mother was 15 when she married my dad, who was 19. A month later, he shipped out with the Marines and was gone nearly three years, fighting in the Pacific during World War II. I was born after his return. My parents had a long, happy marriage.
That story would turn out differently today. At 19, John fell in love with a girl 15 years old. Her parents were content with their dating until the girl became pregnant. He was arrested for statutory rape, went to jail, was put on lengthy probation, and had to register as a sex offender.
John and the girl were married and had two other children. As a sex offender, he could not live or work within “1,000 feet of a school, day care, church, park, or any other place where children are known to gather.” Hard to do in the South, where there are churches on every corner. (And what’s wrong with being near a church? You would think they would encourage folks to go to church.)
Sadly, John lost his job. Then came the task of finding another job. Some employers wouldn’t even talk to him because of probation AND the Sex Offender Registry. Those who gave him a chance often let him go when someone complained. The Registry is on the Internet — where you live, where you work, your offenses. ...
John was forced to quit 25 jobs by his probation, because of the 1,000-foot requirement. When he came to me for help, he had been forced to leave his job as a roofer’s helper ... he might have to roof a house with children in it.
Because of the financial stress, John’s marriage ended. His wife could no longer handle the burdens of the Sex Offender Registry. Was justice served? Is this what John’s wife’s parents really wanted?
Had my grandparents approached my parents’ marriage differently, and if the Sex Offender Registry had been in existence, my life would have been completely different. My dad went to college, became a preacher, helping to establish 13 churches.
