Orrin Hatch: “we are here today in a battle to save our children, their families, and the victims, of repeat sex offenders. I am so…”

“we are here today in a battle to save our children, their families, and the victims, of repeat sex offenders. I am so proud of the real warriors in this battle: the victims and their family members. One of those warriors is Ed Smart, from my home State of Utah, whose daughter Elizabeth was kidnapped from her own bedroom by a sexual predator. Ed is joined by Patti Wetterling, Linda Walker, and other outstanding advocates of our children, including John Walsh of America's Most Wanted, Ernie Allen of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and Robbie Calloway of the Boys & Girls Club of America in support of this bipartisan legislation we are introducing today along with co-sponsor Senator Biden. We need legislation that will close the gaps in many laws already on the books; integrate and revive the existing laws; and expand covered offenses against children. The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act will bring all of the States up to date and enable citizens in every State to inform themselves about predators in their communities. This law will enable States to take public information about sex offenders and make it easy for citizens to access at one, open, web-site. This legislation will put the responsibility on the sex offenders themselves to register with the local authorities. They will be required to notify those authorities when they move or change jobs. And if they don't want to comply with the rules--then they will go to jail!…”