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February 29, 2008

Crunch time - we're in Rules!

HBs 2728 and 3103, and SB 6358 have passed through standing committees and are in the Rules Committees.
This is great news, and thank you all for your efforts in communicating with the Legislature in the last few days; I really think it made a big difference for HB 2728.
The Bills have moved to the Rules committees for the second reading; it's up to those committees whether or not the Bills are read again at all, and whether or not they move onto their third reading, which is the House or Senate vote to move it into law.
We have sent our own letters of support to ensure that the addresses and formatting work, and updated the Support Legislation webpage. There are now two email forms, and two sample letters.
Please take a few minutes and send your support for these Bills to Olympia. If you'd prefer, you can call the members of each Rules committee, House or Senate. If you select the links, and then select the various names, their contact information will be immediately visible.
To save you time, the Chair of the Senate Rules committee is Rosa Franklin, and her office is reached at (360) 786-7656. The Chair of the House Rules Committee is Frank Chopp, and his office can be reached at (360) 786-7920.
Thank you for your efforts. Every single email and phone call really does make a difference.

Posted by Bethan at 11:43 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

February 27, 2008

Legislative update and new features!

Legislative Update-
 
We lost SB 6386 and HB 2715 - both bills would have made great changes in laws to protect our kids. We'll work on them over the next year, and get them through the next session.
 
Three bills are still in the running, and they're in the home stretch. SB 6358, HB 3103, and HB 2728. All are very simple pieces of legislation that would go a long way toward correcting gaps that let a lot of predators through to our kids. You can read about them on our Support Legislation page, and you can support them there, too.
 
HB 2728 is a big deal for us, and it needs your support.
 
Please go to our Support Legislation page and send the pre-addressed email there, or simply contact the Senate Committee for Human Services and Corrections and let them know you support HB 2728. I call them all the time, the woman that usually answers the phone is very nice.
 
That phone number is 360-786-7316. If they don't answer the phone, you can just leave a message with your name, the city you live in, and your support HB 2728.
 
Activism doesn't get any easier!
 
Also, we have a newly-built website, and a MUCH better blog. The blog is a great thing because, should you choose to, you can subscribe to the RSS feed and read our updates along with your daily RSS news, rather than get it in your inbox. If you'd like to do that, let me know, and we'll unsubscribe you from this newsletter.
 
In May we're observing National Missing Children's Day - with a week of activities. Mom's Clubs, PTSAs, preschools, public schools, and law enforcement - everyone is joining in, and it's a fantastic thing. Why is it so fantastic?
 
58,000 non-family abductions in the US every year. Some abductions last for a very short period and the child isn't transported - however, in the vast majority of even the most brief abductions, the child is still sexually or physically victimized.

While it's an important and necessary act to record certain information about kids in case they get kidnapped - we need to prevent the assault, the kidnapping, the sexual violence toward children.
 
So, a week of access to prevention education, for on the street and on the internet. If you want to help, let us know. More details will follow when we have all of the participating organizations levels of commitment, which you can read more about at our website on the page National Missing Children's Week.
 
Please go check out the website, shop at our store, and comment on our blog!

Posted by Bethan at 07:58 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In support of HB 3103

I am representing Washington Communities Against Predators.
This past December, two people came to me, separately, asking me if I knew that there was something going on in Washington Schools, and likely through-out the country, called 'passing the trash.'
This phrase is used to describe what happens when a school official needs to remove a 'problem employee' from one environment for troublesome but not necessarily criminal issues, and doesn't want to risk negative publicity for the school by going forward with formal allegations of misconduct.
They did not know how common it was, but they both had very strong issues with the results, in that parents and the new school's employees had no means of knowing that 'problem teacher' was a threat.
At the time, I had the resources to note down their concerns and add it to my list of things to research for future work. Today, a third person sent me a link to a news article [see link below]  from King 5, regarding HB 3103.
I have taken the time to read the documents associated with HB 3103, and am very glad to have the opportunity to contribute on its behalf.
The fact is, children have to go to school. Yes, parents could home school, but that is a possibility for a very limited number of Washington citizens.
Parents are responsible for the safety of the children every-where in their lives, right up until the school's door. Inside the door, it is the school's responsibility to protect the children. We now know that there is this threat, and HB 3103 articulates an appropriate response to this threat.
I urge that this bill be passed through the Senate and signed into law.

Posted by Bethan at 07:53 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In support of HB 2728

I am writing in support of HB 2728.
 
You have heard testimony on behalf of HB 2728 from PB, a mother of two children who were accosted while on their school's playground by a Bellevue lawyer. This Bellevue lawyer was convicted of four separate counts of Indecent Exposure to a child, with sexual intent, and yet  -had those been his only convictions- he would still be allowed to work with children, drive a school bus, or coach a team.
 
HB 2728 is a well built, simple piece of legislation that would not threaten any civil rights.
 
Law enforcement know the difference between a protected right to get naked and an inappropriate attempt to engage a child in a sexual manner, and should they err on the side of caution and arrest someone when unsure, the charges can be dropped. Law enforcement are not the final say in what a person gets charged with.
 
Prosecutors practice tremendous discretion, knowing that they'll have to prove the allegations, and that applying them inappropriately decreases the legitimacy of the charge.
 
Lastly, the allegation would have to be proven separately. When the crime is horribly obvious, as it was with the Bellevue lawyer who admitting to approaching and exposing himself to upwards of 200 children in King Co., then there would be a piece of legislation in place to appropriately address his acts, and to prevent him from seeking out methods of getting trusted contact with other children.
 
We're asking that HB 2728, a simple bill that addresses a very apparent need, move forward.
 
Thank you for your time and consideration with regard to HB 2728.

Posted by Bethan at 07:51 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Errors on email formats

Thank you to one of our members for pointing out that there are errors in the address formatting for the support emails on the Support Legislation page.

I'll have that fixed in the next hour. In the meantime, you can also call the number included in the email to offer your support.

Thank you for your patience and your action - it means a great deal to all of us. -B

Posted by Bethan at 12:37 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)


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