It's been in discussions for
months, and it's currently sitting in the Ohio Senate Judiciary
Committee on Criminal Justice, with lawmakers unsure what to do with
it. It's a bill that would require sex offenders in the State of
Ohio to have neon green license plates.
The name of the bill is
Kristen's Law, named for a 14-year-old girl named Kristen Jackson who
was lured from a fair in 2002 by a sex offender on parole. She was
murdered, and her body dismembered.
The bill is co-sponsored by
Democratic State Representative Mike DeBose, and Republican State
Senator Kevin Coughlin.
"It won't
prevent every crime, Rep. DeBose has said. "It's just a tool in
the box, but cars are a weapon used by sexual predators. They
don't come to the bus stop and try and take kids in a sack."
But prosecutors, sheriffs, and
police chiefs have openly opposed the law, saying that predators will
find other ways, and instead of decreasing crime, it will cause
vandalism and harassment, road rage and traffic hazards.
In Ohio, convicted DUI offenders
already sport bright yellow plates.