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Should Sexual Offenders Be Issued Passports - An Issue To Contemplate

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There are few documents that hold the importance and privilege as a U.S. passport. In fact, it is such a valuable document that many feel a person who has been convicted of a sex crime should not be permitted to obtain one. You may not be aware that out of the sixteen million passports that were issued in 2008, 4,500 of them were issued to registered sex offenders who had been released from jail.

As we consider this dilemma, it's import to understand that the title of sex offender covers a broad range of crimes. If you are convicted of going to the bathroom outside where other people may possibly see you, you are put into this classification. Those who commit rape, even violent rape, or perpetrate sexual crimes against children are also in this same category. Perhaps you can see the reason for the discussion. Those convicted of participating in "sex tourism" are denied passports of all the others in the group mentioned can get one.

Different Viewpoints

Some people feel this right should not be restricted hoping the sex offender will commit their crime in a foreign country where the penalties are much more severe than here in the United States. This opinion holds to the idea that once the debt is paid, they should be allowed to travel as much as they please and if they are caught in another country committing a crime, perhaps the harsh punishment will finally teach them a lesson.

Another viewpoint is this: if a criminal is caught, convicted, and put in jail for a certain amount of time, they have paid their debt to society once they are released. Whether it's a guy who spent a night in jail for dropping his trousers on the side of the road or someone who has spent fifty years behind bars for a sex crime, the people behind this view believe that they shouldn't be further ostracized from their rights as American citizens by being denied passports. They believe that while a criminal conviction can potentially keep them from getting a job or a place to live, they shouldn't be denied access to the world.

You see, USA Passport requirements are strictly defined; and currently, those who have been released from jail, whether they are sex offenders or murderers, are permitted to get an American passport. There is, however, a restricted group and that includes sex tourists, those who have neglected to pay court mandated child support, drug traffickers and those currently in jail. This is because of the flight risk involved.

How do you feel about ex-cons traveling internationally? Whether you believe stricter rules need to be placed concerning passports, or if you believe that the rules need to be loosened, there is much discrepancy surrounding the issue. How do you feel about the current United States passport requirements? Should anyone be allowed to at least apply for a United States passport?