A new law with residency restrictions on convicted sex offenders has drawn swift criticism – and a lawsuit -- from civil rights advocates. The measure is intended to fix a 2006 law which bans convicted sex offenders from living, working or loitering within 1,000 feet of children.
The state Supreme Court called the previous law unconstitutional after a Clayton County man was forced from his home when a pair of day care centers opened nearby.
Civil rights advocates however say the only difference between the old and new law is that home owners get to keep their homes. But, their concerns don't stop there. Sarah Garrity is an attorney with the Southern Center for Human Rights.
"For example, the much criticized school bus stop provision remains a part of the law, there are no exceptions for people who are physically incapacitated by illness or age, there is no distinction between people who are on the registry who because they engaged in consensual sex as teenagers, and people who are really dangerous people."
The group has already filed a lawsuit, challenging the new law. Also among its concerns … that large portions of the state would bendeclared off-limits to sex offenders.
