Groups testify against sex offender plates

Ohio isn't likely to become the first state in the union to require sex offenders to have special, fluorescent green license plates on their cars or trucks.

The Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association, Buckeye Sheriffs Association and Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police all announced their opposition to the idea, citing concerns about vigilantism, road rage and giving children a false sense of security.

Each group testified this week against a bill sponsored by Sen. Kevin Coughlin, R-Cuyahoga Falls, that would mandate the green plate for rapists and pedophiles on the sexual offender registry.

Other groups opposed to the plates: the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio and the Ohio Association of Child Caring Agencies.

The bill is supported by a Wooster family whose 14-year-old daughter was abducted, raped and murdered by a sex offender living in their neighborhood. They believe green plates would alert Ohioans to dangerous people leaving among them. A similar bill is pending in the House.

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May 2007

USA Today has this article about a new sex offender sanction growing in popularity. The piece is entitled "Sex offenders may get special tags; Eye-catching license plates proposed by lawmakers in Wisconsin, Ohio, Alabama." Here is how it starts:

Lawmakers in three states are pushing bills to require convicted sex offenders to display special license plates on their cars. Proponents in Wisconsin, Ohio and Alabama say the sex offender plates would be another tool to keep the public safe. Critics say the plates would lead to a false sense of security and unintended consequences.