Bob Dole: “Tuesday night the House passed an important measure that will help protect our Nation's children from sexual predators.…”

“Tuesday night the House passed an important measure that will help protect our Nation's children from sexual predators. By a vote of 418 to 0, the House passed legislation, known as Megan's law, that strengthens existing law to require all 50 States to notify communities of the presence of convicted sex offenders who might pose a danger to children. In 1994, the crime bill allowed but did not require States to take such steps. And since that time, 49 States have enacted sex offender registration laws, and 30 States have adopted community notification provisions. But not all States have taken the necessary steps to require such notification, and this is a tragedy in the making. For once, let us prevent a tragedy instead of waiting for some other horrific crime and then taking action. We should pass this law now. How can we hesitate one moment? Every parent in America knows the fear, the doubts, he or she suffers worrying about the safety of his or her children. Parents understand that their children cannot know how truly evil some people are. They know that no matter how hard they try, they cannot be with their children every second of the day. And a second is all it takes for tragedy to strike. We have an obligation to ensure that those who have committed such crimes will not be able to do so again. This is a limited measure, but an absolutely necessary one.”