ACT NOW: The Safe Shelters Act: Unsafe, Unjust, and Cruel

Sandy Rozek — Tue, 17 Dec 2024 03:06:09 +0000

By Sandy Rozek, NARSOL Communications Director & John Dawe, NARSOL Marketing Director
When families face emergencies and are driven from their homes, they need quick and equitable access to emergency facilities. Families should be allowed to stay together during crises. However, a new bill, The Safe Shelters Act, proposed by Nancy Mace, a former South Carolina state representative who is now a U.S. congresswoman, seeks to deny this fundamental right to families with a member on a state sex offense registry. “Women and children deserve safety,“ she has said in defense of the bill. While protecting vulnerable populations is a goal we all share, this bill fails to achieve that and instead imposes unnecessary harm.

About the Safe Shelters Act

Mace’s legislation, the Safe Shelters Act, states: “Except for the purpose of seeking information on designated shelters, a covered sex offender may not enter or use the services of an undesignated shelter.”

Under the proposed bill, “designated shelters,” as determined by FEMA, would likely include federal buildings or prisons deemed suitable for registrants by the General Services Administration. This bill is cruel and unfairly targets registrants with families, particularly those with small children. Non-registered spouses depend on their partners for help and support during emergencies, and registered single parents would be made to choose between their children’s safety and forced separation. We believe that requiring families to separate during a crisis is contemptible.

Why We Oppose the Safe Shelters Act

People on the registry already face ostracization and discrimination in daily life. Denying them access to emergency shelters further marginalizes them and interferes with the fundamental unit of society—the family. No family should have to endure such treatment during a crisis.

This bill is unnecessary as there is no evidence that registrants pose a threat to the safety of others in emergency shelters. Shelter operators and agencies are not advocating for such extreme measures. Instead, this bill appears to be a political maneuver—either for publicity or personal agenda—addressing a problem that does not exist.

Ironically, the bill comes from lawmakers who champion limiting government and federal interference in state matters. This legislation contradicts those principles by overstepping states’ rights, a fundamental conservative value. The Safe Shelters Act undermines this principle because local governments typically manage emergency shelters, and some states have chosen to legislate these matters themselves. The bill overrides state and local authority, imposing unnecessary federal control.

This is bad public policy on all fronts, as it harms families by forcing separation during emergencies. It addresses a problem that does not exist, wasting legislative resources. Finally, it violates states’ rights and local jurisdiction over shelter management.

The Safe Shelters Act Places Families at Direct Risk of Harm

The National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws monitors such legislation and recently called attention to problems around these kinds of laws in states like Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina during recent Hurricanes Helene and Milton, stating, “When safety is threatened, when families are driven from their homes, they need to be allowed emergency shelter just like every other citizen, and they need to be allowed to stay together as families.” NARSOL noted several families electing to stay home during mandatory evacuations rather than separating parents from children, putting entire families in danger.

This flawed, unnecessary, and potentially unconstitutional legislation must not become law. Instead of dividing families during crises, policymakers should focus on solutions that equitably support all citizens.

A Call to Take Action

Citizens concerned about this bad policy are encouraged to take action at The NARSOL Action Center.

The following signers have endorsed this opinion-editorial:

Brenda Jones, Executive Director National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws (NARSOL)
Robin Vander Wall, Chair, NARSOLJohn DawejohndEdit Profile
James Ward, NARSOL representative, Alabama
Audrey Kelly, NARSOL representative, Alaska
Patricia Borden, Director, Arizonans for Rational Sex Offense Laws
Susan Walker, Executive Director, Coalition for Sex Offense Restoration, Colorado
Cindy Prizio, President, One Standard of Justice, Connecticut
Margaret Hawkins, President, Delaware Advocates for Rational Sexual Offense Laws
Gail Colletta, President, Florida Action Committee, Inc.
Waleisha Wilson, Chair, Restore Georgia
Adele Nicholas, Executive Director, Illinois Voices
Michael Harris, Executive Director, Indiana Voices
Amanda ******, Executive Director, Iowans Unafraid
Teresa Butell, NARSOL representative, Kansas Coalition United Against Registry
Jeff Goetz, NARSOL representative, Kentucky
B.V. Jones, Executive Director, Maryland Families Advocating for Intelligent Registries
Kathie Gourlay, NARSOL representative, Michigan
Tim P, NARSOL representative, Sex Offense Reform Specialist. ACLU of Michigan
Timothy Davich, NARSOL representative, Minnesota for Our Rights
Ken Roberts, NARSOL Gatekeeper, Mississippi
Erik McInnis, NARSOL representative, Missouri
Kevin Nunez, NARSOL representative, New Jersey
Larry Neeley, NARSOL representative, New Mexico
Dwayne Daughtry, Executive Director, North Carolina RSOL
Justin Hillman, NARSOL representative, North and South Dakota
T. Jackson, NARSOL Representative, Ohio RSOL
Mary Krehbiel, NARSOL representative, Oklahoma RSOL
Lori Hamilton, Executive Director, OK Voices, Inc.
Dr. David Mayer, Chair, Oregon Voices
John Dawe, Managing Director, Pennsylvania Assoc. For Rational Sexual Offense Laws
Don Thurber, Executive Director, South Carolina RSOL
W.G. Crump, NARSOL representative, Tennessee
Mary Sue Molnar, Executive Director, Texas Voices for Reason and Justice
Timothy R. Burgess, Executive Director, Vermont Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errants
JP Welch, Board member, Safer Virginia
Philip Kaso, Executive Director, West Virginians for Rational Sexual Offense Laws
Robert Thibault, NARSOL representative, Wisconsin
Amber Vlangas, Executive Director, Restorative Action Alliance New York
Danell Puglisi-Knutson, Board member, SHINE-VOICES
Shawn Barrera-Leaf, United Voices for Sex Offense Reform (UV4SOR) Michigan
Janice Bellucci, Executive Director, ACSOL