Some Wish to Expand Amber Alerts to older Woman Students
There are some that are pushing for Amber Alerts to include older female students. Presently the Amber Alert system is made only for children under the age of 18. Is the point of Amber to find missing people or only to segment it for missing children?
When Ali Gilmore went missing after Feb. 2, there was no emergency response or immediate coordinated effort to find her. Some say if Amber Alerts included women, the 30-year-old Tallahassee resident’s disappearance may have been solved by now.
Obviously the difference in searching for minors vs. those of adult age is the consent to go missing. There are many cases where an adult just wishes to disappear or take off. That is not the case with minors, except in the case of a runaway. However, law enforcement is responsible for minor’s actions as they are not of the age of consent to make such decisions.
We certainly understand the noble effort to want to include college age females in Amber Alerts; however, it may cause discriminatory issues. What if a male college student is abducted? The important fact is more needs to be done to prevent, search and find missing persons … no matter what age they are. Obviously women seem to be at a greater threat in these matters. Any changes for the positive for missing persons is a good thing.
Bishop Thomas Masters, Gilmore’s former pastor, hopes to change that law.
“We want it for college students and women in general,” said Masters, pastor of New Macedonia Baptist Church in Riviera Beach and president of the Palm Beach County Coalition to Stop the Violence. “We feel they need to have that kind of protection.”
State Rep. Priscilla Taylor, D-West Palm Beach, said she is researching the issue and may craft a bill to change the law.
(Tallahassee Democrat)