According to the leftists running Colorado, it would be really bad if sexual predators felt shame or stigma for raping people.
The state's Sex Offender Management Board (SOMB), tasked with controlling treatment for those convicted of sex crimes, voted 10-6 on Friday to replace the title "sex offender" with "adults who commit sexual offenses," according to The Denver Post.
We wouldn't want the molesters out there to feel bad about themselves, now would we?
"I think this strikes a balance that honors the impact to victims and recognizes the current and ongoing impacts of sexual assault but also avoids the labeling term that has negative impacts on those who commit sex offenses," said one board member, KCNC-TV reported.
First off, those guilty of sex crimes deserve all the "negative impacts" coming their way. They should consider it an act of mercy that they are still allowed to draw breath.
Second, it seems like this board member is equating the damage that sexual assault does to victims to the isolation a sexual predator feels when society calls out his sins. That's pretty messed up, if you ask me.
Members of the board argued for the change, saying the state should use "person-first language."
"I think the biggest thing is research really shows us that assigning a label has the potential for negative effects in rehabilitation," Kimberly Kline, the chair of the SOMB and a licensed counselor told The Post.
As everyone who has attended an AA meeting knows, the first step toward recovery is not admitting that you're an alcoholic, but an "adult who has frequently consumed too much alcohol."
What a joke!
One registered sex offender, Derek Logue, argued to KCNC-TV he shouldn't have to carry the label for all his life, explaining, "Referring to me by a label for something I did half my life ago is inappropriate and downright offensive."
He said it would be better to be called a "client" of the SOMB.
I don't know Derek Logue or what he did. Perhaps he has found the amazing grace of Jesus Christ.
The way he insists on his crimes being relabeled, however, suggests otherwise. Criminals don't like it when they are labelled with the correct terms. An unrepentant and proud heart wants something softer, like "client."
Let's hear what one victim thinks about this:
One rape survivor, Kimberly Corbin, is also speaking out against the new title. She argued it is acceptable to use "person-first language" when referring to things outside an individual's control, but asserted that is not the case for a sex offender.
"It's very, very damaging for those people who are labeled when it has to do with gender, race, sexuality, ability, but those are not their choices," she said. "The biggest thing for me is these are choices that sex offenders make."
The fact that Kimberly lumps sexuality and gender into actual genetic characteristics like race (and to some extent, ability) shows she's a relatively woke person.
Yet even she knows this is messed up.
"I'm involved today after hearing that it would be improper or offensive in some manner for me to refer to the man who raped me as a ‘sex offender,'" she added.
Even if the government and media decide they want to call rioters "mostly-peaceful protesters," to refer to mass murderers by their SUV, to call fascists "anti-fascists," or to call child molesters "minor attracted persons," don't play the game.
