Final arguments for and against the Louisiana Legislature’s House Bill 55 — which bans sex offenders guilty of crimes involving minors from using social networking sites, chat rooms and peer-to-peer networks — are due Nov. 23.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against the state after the bill took effect Aug. 15, according to Marjorie Esman, executive director of the ACLU of Louisiana.
According to Lt. Terry Mathis with the East Baton Rouge Parish Sherriff’s Office, Baton Rouge has a particularly large number of sex offenders. He said the city is home to 129 tier-three offenders, which are the “highest risk offenders,” including “major rapists and multiple sections.”
Esman also noted the difficulties of monitoring and enforcing the ban from both sides of the law. “You don’t know whether or not the sites have comments unless you’ve been there,” she said. “But it would be a felony if you