Sex offender ordinance on tap at City Council meeting today

Registered sex offenders.

It’s three chilling words that can ignite a firestorm of emotion when this hot-button issue is discussed.

An ordinance designed to “make Gonzales a safer place” will be placed before the City Council at its 6 p.m. meeting today at City Hall.

If adopted, the ordinance would regulate sexual offenders, making it unlawful for certain sexual offenders to reside within 1,000 feet of premises where children gather and making it illegal to loiter within 300 feet of the public way around a child safety zone. Violations of the ordinance could result in fine of up to $2,000 per day.

“This is to protect our children,” said city manager Allen Barnes. “It’s for the protection of our community; to make Gonzales a safer place.”

Barnes said the city does not currently have an ordinance dealing with sex offenders, and that the proposed law is “a standard ordinance” similar in language to several other Texas cities.

Because the ordinance is fashioned after similar laws, Barnes said the state attorney general has already ruled in March 2007 that such ordinances are legal and do not contradict any constitutional laws.

In comparing the number of sex offenders currently in Gonzales, Barnes cited data that indicates Gonzales has twice as many offenders as the county as a whole, and three times the state rate.

The city manager said the ordinance is not being considered because a greater threat has emerged, but the issue was raised during conversation in conducting city business, which he said “is not an unusual thing.”

The ordinance specifically addresses permanent residences of registered sex offenders, and the 1,000-foot limitation does not apply to the place of employment for offenders.

For a landlord, the $2,000 per day fine applies for knowingly allowing a registered sex offender to live within the 1,000-foot barrier.

Barnes said the ordinance does place some responsibility on the landlord to do a database search on prospective tenants and/or to obtain written documentation from the tenant stipulating the person is not a registered sex offender.