State Senator John Bonacic: "no More Excuses"

A recent Albany Times Union editorial explained that the Assembly democrats said they were concerned about violating the rights of sex offenders as a reason for not enacting tougher laws designed to lock up, and/or effectively track repeat sexual predators. "I believe what we ought to be concerned about are the rights of victims and work to prevent these heinous crimes from being committed over and over again," stated Senator John J. Bonacic (R/I/C - Mount Hope).

The editorial further stated, ". . This should not be about politics. It’s about protecting children--and that’s an issue state lawmakers must confront now." Senator Bonacic continued, "I couldn’t agree more. In fact, legislation I am sponsoring requiring the GPS monitoring of level three sex offenders, has passed the Senate with broad bipartisan support, is sponsored in the Assembly by Assemblyman Koon, and could be passed by the Assembly at any time. There is no excuse. This, along with several other comprehensive proposals already passed by the Senate, need to be enacted without hesitation to protect our children and families."

Senator Bonacic said that the Assembly’s failure to address these measures is not democracy in action and is not in the best interests of the public. Mark Lunsford, whose daughter was abducted, sexually assaulted, then buried alive, said during his visit to Albany to support the Senate’s sex offender legislation, that his daughter’s life would have been saved if GPS monitoring was in place. Jennifer’s killer was a known high risk sex offender who was hiding in a closet with Jennifer when police searched the home, but was not discovered.

"The GPS monitoring of Jennifer’s killer and many others like him would have prevented this tragedy and many others," stated Senator Bonacic. "How many tragedies must occur before the Assembly acts? The Assembly leadership can do the right thing and take action now before another innocent life is destroyed."