President George W. Bush signs The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act into Law
This is all about children. It tells children in our country that they are precious and are cared about — even though they don’t have any money, or vote or lobby — that we will take care of them.” (Reve Walsh)
Today, 25th anniversary of Adam Walsh’s abduction and murder, President George W. Bush signed the “Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act” into law in a special Rose Garden event. This ground breaking law will finally put teeth in the fight against child sexual predators. It is about time that the United States take this epidemic seriously. All too often offenses against children were brushed aside as “children do not vote”. However, the abduction, sexual exploitation, rape and murder of children has come to the forefront of the American conscience. Congratulations John Walsh … you are a hero to so many for your endless work for the protection of children.
The transcript from President George W. Bush regarding H.R. 4472, the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006
Fact Sheet: The Adam Walsh Child Protection And Safety Act Of 2006
A thank you from John Walsh and his family.
This is an incredible week for myself and my family and other parents of murdered or missing children.
I want to thank all of you who have supported us to make sure this bill got to the President.
I’m elated that we finally have a piece of child protection legislation at the federal level that will truly make a difference.
(The rest of his comments …)
H.R. 4472 Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act
From the Rose Garden President George W. Bush went on to say:
“Our nation grieves with every family that’s suffered the unbearable pain of a child whose been abducted or abused,” Bush said in a bill-signing ceremony in the Rose Garden. “This law takes an important step forward in this country’s efforts to protect those who cannot protect themselves.”
The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act will find more than 100,000 sex offenders by creating the first national on-line listing available to the public and searchable by ZIP code. The Child advocates have called the bill the most sweeping sex offender legislation to target pedophiles in years. Unfortunately the ACLU will call it discriminatory or their next crusade. The new law will allow the following:
—Establish a comprehensive federal DNA database of material collected from convicted molesters, and procedures for the routine DNA collection and comparison to the database when someone has been convicted of such an offense.
—Provide federal funding for states to track pedophiles using global positioning devices.
—Allow victims of child abuse to sue their molesters.
The law imposes a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years for raping a child; a mandatory 10-year penalty for sex trafficking offenses involving children and for coercing child prostitution; and increases minimum sentences for molesters who travel between states.
It is hard to imagine that the penalty is greater for illegally downloading songs off the internet than images of children. Even Democrat and former Presidential Candidate John Kerry is on board with President Bush on this one. Please do not waffle of this one Senator Kerry, our children’s safety is too important to be politicized. I congratulate the Senator from Massachusetts and all those who joined the President on this important legislation.
“It’s an absolute outrage that the penalty for downloading songs illegally off the Internet was three times the penalty for downloading disgusting images of children,” Kerry said. “We need to do everything we can to end the disgrace of child pornography. This is a start.”
(FOX News)