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BEST OF 2002-2003 Guiding Light lights the hearts of hopeful students Cavalier smashed in Schenley Quad Air Force ROTC simulates POW camp Wait is over for Guiding Light hopefuls! Pitt students pack Destinta Theatre to watch 'The Passion of the Christ.' Controversial movie receives David Limbaugh's commentary! PHOTOGALLERYPhotogallery of the funeral procession ceremony for Reagan to the Capitol HOTPRESSIONSCommandments controversy is so commie and not constitutional SPECIAL FEATURE FEATURE Pitt Dance Team goldens Heinz Field Pitt Dance Team rainbow Heinz Field IMPRESSIONSA patriotic war is just to protect people (1)It is a matter of principle and ethicsPrivacy or perversion in the bedroom Israel, Israel, what have you done for Palestine! Pitt should be proud denying same-sex benefits Keep the Reagan legacy alive by voting for President Bush this November
Homosexuals do not need a special bill!
Wake up media and uncover the terrorists! Mount Rushmore needs to be revisted to include Ronald Reagan Clinton wants Kerry who promotes immoral issues, do you? 9-11 report should not have been bipartisan! SPORTS Women's softball team saw Rockets falling. Hungry Panthers win Pittsburgh Classic EXPRESSIONSConstitution supports God and patriotism One Numb-er Vote for the perfect candidate 24-7! What if Jesus talked football? Pitt Dance Team's colors of black, red, green, and white give significance to the Christmas season! Nativity reminds tourists of Christ's birth Both evolutionism and creationism are based on faith! Gong Show winner recited about 'If cocaine were an alien, what it does not want you to know!' Gospel revealed through semantics and word play Only the right antidote can protect your life God's love is alphabetically revealed in random languages |
Megan's Law is in its 9th anniversary but has it gone too far!
Ramesh C. Reddy The brutal 1994 rape and murder of seven-year-old Megan Kanka caused a public outcry against sex-offenders. The aftermath of this heinous crime lingered even two years later and gave us Megan’s Law which went into effect on May 17, 1996. In four days, it would be the 9th anniversary of this law. Megan’s Law requires sex offender registration and community notification regarding convicted sex offenders who have moved into the community. This law is there to help parents protect their children against sex offenders who are living in their community now but brandishes the offenders with a scarlet letter. This scarlet letter in a figurative sense lets everyone walking by know that he/she committed a crime against a child. As a follower of Jesus Christ, I know that the Lord Jesus does not hold our past sins against us but gives us a clean slate. Yes, there can be consequences for our actions but there are times that His grace supercedes those consequences such as when He took the penalty for our sin so that we do not have to die an eternal death. What does it have to do with sex offenders you may wonder? The sex offender has paid the price by being in prison for his act and the shame that comes from it. Not everyone who comes out of prison goes back to their old ways. Just as those who come to Jesus Christ change their ways without going back to their old ways, I believe sex offenders should have the opportunity to live their life without being brandished with public shame. I have no problem with a private database registration but not a public one for the whole world to see. Jesus took our shame and punishment so we do not have to be forever shamed. I believe in consequences for our actions but also for mercy and grace. Letting sex offenders live their life after their punishment has been paid is the right things to do. I am having a hard time wanting to punish everyone for the worry about someone going back to his/her old ways. I am reminded of Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus. Jesus did not stop choosing disciples with the fear that one person that was chosen in the past betrayed him. He gave others a chance. In love, I think everyone deserves a second chance after they pay their dues to society. The offender is released from prison for the crime but is he/she really free now after being stigmatized. Prisons are meant to punish criminals but mostly to rehabilitate them for the crime for which they have been sentenced. After they complete their sentence, they should be allowed to come back to society and live their lives in privacy. It is wrong to hold a crime against someone forever if they have been released from prison. It is especially wrong to make their name, picture, occupation, and address known to any member of the public. What kind of life can a stigmatized convict who has been released from prison live when he/she is ridiculed, looked down upon, and is an open game for anyone who sees them. Yes, society has a duty to protect children from getting hurt, abused, molested, assaulted, or killed but society should also try to help a convict who has been released get help and move on with their life. Protecting children should be the responsibility of parents and guardians with the help of the state. If a parent or guardian is concerned about a particular neighbor or person who may come in contact with their child, it is their duty to find out about that person by contacting law officials. It is one thing to have a database of sex offenders to share with those concerned about a particular person and another thing to make that database public for anyone to see. Megan’s law should be supported to the extent that concerned parents or guardians who have children should be able to find out about a sex offender in their community through government officials but not have the entire community be notified through public means of a sex offender. Not all who are convicted of sexual offenses come back and commit more sex crimes. We need to ask ourselves is it fair to label all sex offenders as dangerous and still release them into the community. If they are so dangerous, they should not have ever been released from prison. A sex offender who is stigmatized may choose to live in prison and make a living there than come back to society and be a prisoner in his/her own home with stigmatization. The best interests of children should be balanced with the rights of prisoners who have been released for serving their time. What should be done is Megan’s Law information should only be given to those who have children under 18 who are living with parents or guardians. Not everyone needs to have that information. A law is meant to do good but when that law is taken too far we can harm society in the long run! Ramesh C. Reddy believes Megan’s Law should exist but only parents/guardians should be given that information. Express Your View
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MAY 2005 Weather
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