Kudos to Governor Bush

   Governor Jeb Bush of Florida has, just this morning, signed the Jessica Lunsford Act. This law will provide a much needed crackdown on sexual predators and would require those who prey on children under 12 to be sentenced to at least 25 years in prison and, if they get out, to be tracked for life. I would like to commend Governor Bush of Florida on his responsiveness and swift action regarding the safeguarding of our children and yearn for the day when this type of legislation is in place in California, and ideally, in every state.

Today marks a bittersweet victory for Mark Lunsford, the father of Jessica, for whom the legislation was named. Our prayers are with him. While what happened to Jessica is nothing less than tragic, I am heartened to learn that there is indeed action being taken. This is wonderful news; however it saddens me that, given the high recidivism rate for child sex offenders, it appears most legislators and parents are lacking the motivation to organize to have this type of law put in place. May all loving parents be concerned enough to seek action to protect their children before tragedy strikes their neighborhood.

   I would also like to commend Orange County Sheriff Michael Carona for his kindness and strength in dealing with the Samantha Runnion Case. His heartfelt courage was very comforting at a bleak period of this crime, and he and his deputies did all they could. Alas, they found Samantha, and subsequently her abductor, after a relatively short manhunt. Back in July, 2002, 5-year-old Samantha was abducted, sexually assaulted, and murdered. This, of course, is another needless tragedy. The perpetrator was found guilty just last week and I hope he gets just what he deserves during the sentencing phase this Wednesday. There is absolutely no room on our planet for anyone who would steal a child away from their playmate and drive away with them only to commit heinous acts upon them. I would urge anyone reading this to contact your legislators to enact tougher sentencing for these criminals. Megan's Law is fine for a first step effort, but if we value our children, we need to keep these despicable individuals in jail. By doing this, we won't need to worry if the ACLU worries about their freedoms being violated because they will still be in jail.