ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, May 18, 1996 TAG: 9605200049
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Associated Press
NOTE: Above
Adding to his election-year defense of his anti-crime record, President Clinton signed legislation Friday that requires telling neighbors when sex offenders move in.
The measure is called ``Megan's Law'' after a slain New Jersey youngster. Surrounded by families who have lost children to violence, Clinton said, ``The law named for one child is now for every child.''
He said the new law will ``tell a community when a dangerous sexual predator enters its midst. There is no greater right than the right to raise children in peace and safety.''
The bill was passed by the House this month 418-0.
Later in the day, Clinton flew to Missouri, where he spoke of personal responsibility to students at Webster Groves High School in a St. Louis suburb. He said the world is peaceful today and admonished the students that ``if you want that kind of country for your future, you will have to work for it.''
He said he wanted to return to a time when people would be ``appalled, surprised, disgusted and shocked'' when they heard of a crime being committed.
The auditorium was festooned with banners. ``When it comes to drugs, what part of the word `no' don't you understand?'' said one large banner in red and white. Another banner said, ``W.G.H.S. Celebrates Sober.''
``Megan's Law'' strengthens requirements in the 1994 anti-crime bill by requiring states not only to notify local law enforcement officials when a convicted sex offender moved into a neighborhood, but also to make that information available to the community.
The bill was sponsored by Rep. Dick Zimmer, R-N.J., following the 1994 rape and murder of Megan Kanka, a 7-year-old New Jersey girl.
A convicted sex offender who lived across the street from her - whose record was unknown to the Kanka family - was charged with the crime.
Standing near Clinton in the Oval Office as he signed the bill were Megan's parents, Richard and Maureen Kanka, and their daughter, Jessica, 13, and son, Jeremy, 10.
Also present were Marc Klaas, whose 12-year-old daughter, Polly, was kidnapped from her bedroom in Petaluma, Calif., and murdered in 1989; and Patty Wetterling, whose son, Jacob, was kidnapped from his home in St. Joseph, Minn., in 1989 and has never been found.
Clinton said all three families have worked to protect other children from the violence that claimed theirs.
``They have suffered more than any parent should ever have to,'' Clinton said. ``And they took up the cause of all families and all children.''
In an interview Thursday, Zimmer said: ``This gives parents the information every parent has the right to know, which is whether there is somebody who can hurt their children living in their neighborhood.
``It's a common-sense, workable way to reduce the incidence of crime. It is Megan Kanka's legacy, and is a real legacy for her parents ... who experienced the worst thing that can happen to any parents.''
Zimmer said he does not believe the notification law will lead to lynch mob justice against people who may not have committed any new crimes.
``There's virtually no evidence to justify that fear,'' he said. ``There have been a couple of incidents of vigilantism around the country that come out of community notification.''
But in New Jersey, he said, parents are informed by law enforcement authorities ``in a way that allows them to protect their families but does not at all encourage any kind of vigilantism.''
``Megan's Law'' measures were passed in most states following the crime. But their notification provisions vary widely.
States could lose federal aid if they fail to comply with the terms of the bill but they would still be allowed to decide how dangerous an offender is and what type of notification is required.
The initial version of the law is under challenge in U.S. District Court in New Jersey, where a judge has barred community notification. The plaintiffs, 2,000 released sex offenders, contend notification represents additional punishment in violation of the Constitution.
LENGTH: Medium: 83 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Maureen Kanka and her son, Jeremy, approve Presidentby CNBClinton's signing Friday of `Megan's Law,' named for Jeremy's slain
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