San Antonio proposal bans sex offenders from parks

1)http://www.statesman.com/ap/ap/texas/san-antonio-proposal-bans-sex-offenders-from-parks/nbFy5/ 

2) What Category: Community 

3) Level of issue: Local 

4) Who does this issue affect? San Antonio’s city ordinance says it would grant local parks a 1,000-foot buffer zone banning sex offenders from the area, giving children a safe zone. The ban affects sex offenders who wish to live in the area as well as the children who live in the area and their families. 

5) Why or how does this affect them? The purpose of the ban would be issued in order to create a safe zone for children in their communities, and would keep sex offenders, 1,000 feet away. 

6) What are your views on this issue? In my opinion, I don’t necessarily think that the ban would actually create a “safe-zone” in the community for children to play in, considering that the ban would grandfather in sex-offenders who already live in that 1,000-foot radius of the parks. The ban would also exclude anyone in the 1,000-foot radius who was charged as a minor. I know it is ridiculous to think that kicking someone out of their home that they have lived in for years because they are a sex-offender, and the new ban obviously wants to remove sex-offenders from the area, but at the same time, there are still going to be sex-offenders in the area no matter what. The ban will at least keep sex-offenders from coming into the area and further prevent children from being in danger. I think that the sex-offenders that were grandfathered with the ban should still have some sort of restrictions from the children’s park areas.