International Megan's Law to Prevent Demand for Child Sex Trafficking
.svg) |
|
| Full title | To protect children from exploitation, especially sex trafficking in tourism, by providing advance notice of intended travel by registered child-sex offenders outside the United States to the government of the country of destination, requesting foreign governments to notify the United States when a known child-sex offender is seeking to enter the United States, and for other purposes. |
|---|---|
| Introduced in | 113th United States Congress |
| Introduced on | May 6, 2014 |
| Sponsored by | Rep. Christopher H. Smith (R, NJ-4) |
| Number of co-sponsors | 2 |
| Effects and codifications | |
| U.S.C. section(s) affected | 42 U.S.C. § 16911, 42 U.S.C. § 16901 et seq., 42 U.S.C. § 16915, 18 U.S.C. § 1801, 22 U.S.C. § 2152d, and others. |
| Agencies affected | U.S. Marshals Service, United States Department of Justice, Interpol, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Executive Office of the President, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, United States Congress, United States Department of State, Department of Homeland Security |
| Legislative history | |
|
|
The International Megan's Law to Prevent Demand for Child Sex Trafficking (H.R. 4573) was a bill that would require the notification of foreign governments when a citizen of United States registered as a sex offender for sexual offense involving a minor is going to be traveling to their country. The bill passed the United States House of Representatives during the 113th United States Congress but died in Senate.
The International Megan's Law was reintroduced in 2015 by Rep. Christopher H. Smith as International Megan's Law to Prevent Child Exploitation and Other Sexual Crimes Through Advanced Notification of Traveling Sex Offenders (H.R. 515). In addition to HR 4573, the final version of HR 515 requires a visual "unique identifier" to be placed on the passports of registrants convicted of sex offenses involving a minor. Law would also require covered offenders to notify law enforcement 21 days before traveling abroad. Critics have claimed violation of constitutional rights and note that the law would also cover those who were convicted as minors.
HR 515 passed both chambers of the 114th United States Congress on February 2, 2016 and was signed into law by President Obama on February 8, 2016.
"Megan's Law" is an informal name for laws in the United States requiring law enforcement authorities to make information available to the public regarding registered sex offenders, which was created in response to the murder of Megan Kanka. Individual states decide what information will be made available and how it should be disseminated. Commonly included information is the offender's name, picture, address, incarceration date, and nature of crime. The information is often displayed on free public websites, but can be published in newspapers, distributed in pamphlets, or through various other means.
...
Wikipedia