Sex Offenders Suing for Right to Volunteer in Church

Georgia has some tough laws regarding sex offenders, and some of those offenders are...well, offended:

ATLANTA — Sex offenders in Georgia are suing for the right to volunteer in houses of worship as a new measure already approved by lawmakers has some critics up in arms.

The Atlanta-based Southern Center for Human Rights filed a lawsuit Tuesday on behalf of the 15,400 sex offenders on Georgia’s state registry. Georgia already has one of the nation's toughest sex offender statutes, and the center is hoping to stop the added measure, set to go into effect July 1.

The new provision would make it illegal for sex offenders to sing in adult choirs, prepare for events or cook meals in church kitchens. Violating the law could spell a prison term of 10 to 30 years, which sponsors said is a vital addition to help keep children safe.

"It’s designed to protect children, to keep people who have a history of pedophilia or sex crimes against children away from children so they’re less likely to repeat," said David Ralston, a Republican state representative and one of the measure’s sponsors.

"This latest filing is simply another tactic by those people who disagree with the whole purpose of the law and try to chip away at it until it’s abolished."

But some religious leaders say the law would undermine the positive effects of religion.

"Thieves, robbers, murderers — we give them all a second chance," said Mark Hanson, senior pastor at New Beginnings Tabernacle, a small evangelical ministry in Buchanan, Ga.

"It seems like under the sex offender law you’re banned permanently from society," he said. "Without forgiveness and mercy, how do we expect anyone to start over?"

You can argue all the fine points of ministry, but let me give you one business reason why you don't want sex offenders volunteering in your church: You'll have insurance problems. When I was in the church insurance business we had a form we had to use with every account that asked a series of questions, including whether anyone in the church had been accused or convicted of sexual molestation or misconduct. If the answer was yes, you were going to have problems with your policy.

Depending on what that person had done and what they were doing in the church the company could deny coverage altogether, deny coverage for sexual misconduct liability for the entire church, or just deny coverage for that individual. None of those were good options.

You hate to say one strike and you're out, but with sexual misconduct, it pretty much has to be one strike and you can't volunteer in the church. You can attend, but you can't be in any form of leadership and certainly can't have contact with children.