In the old days, it might have worked. The Volusia County Council has banned former sex offenders from living within 1,500 feet of a whole host of things. But modern technology comes in, and all of the County Council’s efforts go for naught. Keeping up with modern technology
At one time, people walked at about 3 miles per hour. A 1,500-foot restriction on Scarlet Letter-qualified former sex offenders might have made sense then. But now, modern horses and buggies can cover that distance and back in less than five minutes.
That does not even account for high tech. Today’s top-of-the-line buggy whips speed travel even more. Horses so driven might cover that distance in less than three minutes.
Then, too, the County Council ought to consider that technology may advance still further. Someone may invent a revolutionary new type of buggy whip that allows people to go 2 miles in 10 minutes. To be prepared for tomorrow, the Scarlet Letter restriction should probably extend a mile.
Because they identify no actual problem, the Scarlet Letter residency restriction cannot fail to solve it. Politicians like to avoid the risk of visible failure.
This is hardly the most urgent made-up problem. Recidivism is relatively low among the Scarlet Letter population. People who steal, such as shoplifters and armed robbers, have much higher recidivism.
A thief has access to the same modern carriages as other people. You could try to ban them. The result could be more theft, this time of the carriages.
When I speak of thieves, I do not refer directly to County Council members. Sure, they rob the public. They take great salaries for a piffling part-time job coming up with residency restrictions.
But we can still protect our children and shopkeepers. We can bar thieves from living within a mile of stores. That makes it more difficult for them to re-offend.
Once the county attorneys get the language drafted, I expect the sheriff and the state’s attorney will get on board. They were “thinking of the children” with the new Scarlet Letter distance ordinance.
When you say “think of the children,” it largely cancels out the risk of thought by government officials. That is what makes Scarlet Letter laws so attractive. No thought is required, and that is what the County Council are hoping — because if you were thinking, they would need real jobs.
— Andrews is a DeLand-area attorney and a longtime government critic. For purposes of the column, he finds it convenient that there is so much government to criticize
