A Teeny Bit of Common Sense....

There seems to be (GASP!!) a bit of common sense in Jefferson City. The Republican Legislature and Boy-Gov Mattie Blunt has, quoting the St Louis Post-Dispatch, "engaged in a free-for-all of measures against sex offenders this session". Sex offender legislation is easy, who is against it? Therefore, the legislature runs roughshod over people, creating crimes and ruining lives when not necessary. We need only look at the case of Matthew Limon in Kansas to see what an out of control Republican can do to hurt others and make a name for himself.

State Sen. Matt Bartle, R-Lee's Summit decided enough is enough, almost amazing for a Republican. His decision was influenced by prosecutors who warned thatall the bills filed this year could make it harder to obtain convictions when there was real necessity.

The Post article states that "In a hearing Monday night, Bartle said he was against measures that would impose tough mandatory sentences for nonviolent sex offenses, such as consensual sex involving a teenager."

"I will stand in the way of a bill that creates a mandatory 25-year minimum for an offense that involves an 18-year-old boy having a petting encounter with a 16-year-old girlfriend," Bartle said in an interview. Now a 16 year old Boyfriend is still a differnt story here in Republoland. But progress is progress.