WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR SOME

Springfield, OH: An 18 year old man received justice Monday in a Springfield, Ohio municipal courtroom. The fortunate young man’s name: Joshua Lunsford  (pictured at right.)

Joshua Lunsford, the youngest son of child victim crusader Mark Lunsford was sentenced Monday in Clark County Ohio to 10 days in jail, 1 year of probation and a $1,000 fine. The sentence handed down by Judge Thomas Trempe, stemmed from two felony charges of sexual conduct with a 14 year old minor in front of two eye witnesses. One incident occurred at a skating rink and the other at a mall. The minor was reportedly his girlfriend.

Under the terms of the agreement, Joshua Lunsford pled guilty to a single misdemeanor charge of sexual conduct with a minor. As a result of the misdemeanor designation he will NOT be required to register as a sex offender and have his life forever destroyed. He will never suffer the wrath of Megan’s Law and others like it. He will be free to live where he wants and work where he wants, free from the stigma of the sex offender label. He won’t have to contemplate or carry out the task of taking his own life when faced with that prospect like so many others before him have or will in the future.

Halfway across the country in Georgia, a young black man named Genarlow Wilson sits in a jail cell with his life in the balance while family members and friends fight for his freedom. Genarlow was charged and convicted of child molestation at the age of 17 for receiving oral sex from a girl just two years younger than him-self. He received a 10 year prison sentence and will be required to register as a sex offender when released.

In Arizona, Matt Bandy age 16, fights for his freedom, his future and to stay off the sex offender registry for showing his father’s Playboy magazine to a couple of his friends.

In Utah, a 13 year old teen mother is ruled a sex offender after being impregnated by her 12 year old boyfriend – a case which screams for psychological intervention not lifetime registration and condemnation.

Tragically, stories like these are repeated over and over again across the country but rarely do these cases receive justice like that of Joshua Lunsford. These cases do however galvanize the revelation that human sexuality is not cut and dry. The average lawmaker does not have anywhere near the qualifications needed to produce viable sex offender legislation on their own, yet they have taken it upon themselves to do so. The patchwork of blanket legislation they have consistently handed down is evidence of just how incapable they are. These stories are a testament to these failures.

The longer we allow lawmakers to go unchecked an avoid accountability the more we as a society will continue to suffer the heartbreaking failures that result from what they do. The laws they have created have clearly left nothing but a swath of destruction in their wake while simultaneously destroying the very foundations of this country. America no longer stands as the beacon for liberty and justice for ALL, but rather liberty and justice for SOME.

operationawareness.com 7/17/2007

*Photo credit for Joshua Lunsford above right courtesy of BAY9NEWS.COM