#PrideMonth #AbolishTheRegistry Fact 4:

So far we've seen how the SOR (Sex Offender Registry) is made up of 25% kids and more than 33% persons of color, but what about LGBTQ?

Why -is- this a pride month series?

Turns out the SOR is -also- a tool to attack #LGBTQ persons...
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#PrideMonth #AbolishTheRegistry Fact 4 p1:

To understand how #LGBTQ are put at risk by the SOR, we must first understand "Romeo & Juliet" laws.

In short, R&J laws are a state-decided ruleset that protects teenage couples when one partner becomes an adult before the other.
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#PrideMonth #AbolishTheRegistry Fact 4 p2:

Sounds fair and reasonable, right? I mean, R&J laws exist in half of the US.

Not exactly.

Firstly, consider the name: "Romeo & Juliet".

The law protecting teens from the SOR is named after an iconic cis-gender, straight couple.
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#PrideMonth #AbolishTheRegistry Fact 4 p3:

Sadly, that name is not a coincidence. In most applicable states, R&J laws are tailored to protect only straight couples; some with definitions that strictly cite "penis in vagina" intercourse.

This leaves #LGBTQ couples at risk.
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#PrideMonth #AbolishTheRegistry Fact 4 p4:

Even in states with R&J laws, engaging in consensual gay/queer sex as a teen is not only still a sex crime, it's often viewed by the CJS as explicitly deviant, which will both guarantee SOR registration and a much higher risk score.
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#PrideMonth #AbolishTheRegistry Fact 4 p5:

As a personal observation, all of the young LGBTQ inmates I've spoken with on SO yards ended up there after their gay partner's parents discovered their relationship and called the police.

Effectively, their crime was being gay.
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#PrideMonth #AbolishTheRegistry Fact 4 p6:

This is not uncommon, and once an LGBTQ person enters the Criminal Justice System, it's game over.

A Williams Institute study concluded that LGBTQ persons are incarcerated at disproportionately high rates w/ 238k+ locked up, today.
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#PrideMonth #AbolishTheRegistry Fact 4 p7:

The study also showed that "sexual minorities" were far more likely to experience harsher punishment, mistreatment, and sexual abuse within the CJS.

And this is all -before- LGBTQ persons are released to a life of abuse on the SOR.
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#PrideMonth #AbolishTheRegistry Fact 4 p8:

We'll focus more on abuses of LGBTQ ppl by the CJS in a later fact. For now, let's stick to detailing how LGBTQ are victimized by the SOR.

This is further enforced by the 2012 Inmate Survey showing 1,882 LGBTQ per 100k prisoners.
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#PrideMonth #AbolishTheRegistry Fact 4 p9:

The SOR goes beyond targeting LGBTQ persons, it's also designed to both ignore their care/issues, and silence them.

As a result, it's near impossible to tell how what percentage of registered offenders identify as LGBTQ.
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#PrideMonth #AbolishTheRegistry Fact 4 p10:

However, with inmate survey results showing that 42% of women/9.3% of men in prison are LGBTQ, and the disproportionate rate of convictions for LGBTQ ppl, experts believe the % of registered LGBTQ offenders to be equally high.
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#PrideMonth #AbolishTheRegistry Fact 4 p11:

In summary, LGBTQ ppl do not receive protections from the SOR while they also see disproportionately high rates of conviction/incarceration.

From this, it can be inferred that LGBTQ ppl are at high risk of harm by the CJS via the SOR.

#PrideMonth #AbolishTheRegistry Fact 4 p12:

Later in this series we'll look at how treatment under the SOR poses specific harm to LGBTQ persons. Thanks for following and sharing!

Sources:

legaldictionary.net/romeo-and-juli…

nedbarnett.com/states-romeo-j…

williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/williams-in-th…

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Sources cont.:

advocate.com/crime/2019/1/2…

reuters.com/article/us-hea…