Civil rights advocates say a strict new Georgia law designed to keep sex offenders away from children punishes the homeless. Georgia's Supreme Court is considering whether the law unfairly subjects homeless offenders to a life sentence if they fail register a home address. The case involves a homeless man and convicted sex offender who was kicked out of a Gainesville homeless shelter two years ago and was arrested three months later on charges he failed to register with Georgia's sex offender list. Defense lawyers say the law is unfair because it bars homeless sex offenders from giving a post office box or simply saying they are homeless. The challenge is among a growing number of cases targeting Georgia's sex offender law, which sponsors declared one of the toughest in the nation when it was adopted in 2006.
