Chez Chesler

With the murder of two men who were on the Maine sex offender registry web site there is renewed debate about such sites. The Boston Herald comes out in favor of them, saying they protect the public. In my opinion this scarlet letter ought not to be reserved for sex offenders, but should be applied to all offenders.

The Massachusetts Sex Offender Registration law, MGL Chapter 6 section 178N, Misuse of Information says

Information contained in the sex offender registry shall not be used to commit a crime against a sex offender or to engage in illegal discrimination or harassment of an offender.

It's not clear from the statute what kind of discrimination is illegal. If it's illegal on other grounds (such as race) this is awfully redundant. This is typically summarized, as when the local newspaper announces that an offender is living nearby, that the information may not be used to discriminate. If it can't be used to discriminate, what good is it? Isn't telling my kids "Stay away from that particular neighbor" or even after the fact noting that a re-offender is on the list discriminating?