Atwo Zee, Registered Traveler: November 2021

Before I wrecked my life and ended up on Florida’s Sex Offender registry I always intended to travel in my retirement. Now, after prison and probation, I am in fact retired, and “free,” and have not given up my dream of seeing natural wonders and historic sites, visiting great cities, traveling to as many places as possible within the restrictions placed on me as a registered citizen.

While I may attempt traveling the world in the future, everything I’ve heard and read about International Megan’s Law requirements makes it sound difficult and even dangerous for a registered person. I therefore decided that my own home country is a pretty big place that, so far at least, nobody can keep my out of. Including all of its states and territories the United States spans half the globe and extends from the arctic to the equator. A guy could spend his whole retirement traveling this great land and never really see all of it.

As many of you may have discovered, however, interstate travel as a registered citizen isn’t as simple as getting in your car and driving away. Unless you don’t mind the prospect of inadvertently violating the registry laws of either your own state or whatever state you’re in at the time and ending up back in prison for a registry violation, it’s crucial to be conversant with and obey the registry laws of every state you plan to pass thru, which for me is every US state and territory.

The starting point for my research was the chart “Summary of State and Territorial Registration Laws Concerning Visiting and Temporary Residence by Adults” available on the Association for Constitutional Sex Offender Laws (ACSOL) website. It’s a good summary chart, but it hadn’t been updated since 2018. Using the state statute references in the ACSOL chart I downloaded every state and territory’s registry laws, read them all, updated the information on the chart and corrected any errors that I found.

I also obtained a list of phone numbers for all 50 states’ SOR offices, and called every state to ask supplemental questions. As you might expect, some SOR offices don’t answer the phone and never call back if you leave repeated messages. Some states SOR offices have outgoing messages that don’t allow you to leave a message but only refer you to unhelpful online FAQ documents. Nevertheless, I found that when I was able to speak to a real person (which was about half the time) the SOR office personnel were uniformly courteous and willing to provide helpful answers to my questions.

The result of my research is the new and improved “Summary of State and Territorial Registration Laws Concerning Visiting and Temporary Residence by Adults” chart. CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW. My plan is to keep re-researching and updating this chart for at least the next ten years (i.e. 2021-2031) while I travel the USA.

However, all of this research – whether the state laws themselves, written responses to letters, or the oral responses by a random person in a state SOR office – may bear no relation at all to what you or I may experience if pulled over by an over-eager redneck sheriff’s deputy because you have a blown tail light. Do you want to be the first person to test the limits of any of this? I’ll bet the answer to that is NO.

So be careful out there, and safe travels!

Legal Disclaimer

I AM NOT AN ATTORNEY. THIS WEBSITE IS NOT INTENDED TO PROVIDE LEGAL ADVICE AND SHOULD NOT SUBSTITUTE FOR QUALIFIED LEGAL ADVICE.

Because sex offender laws are frequently revised by legislatures and reviewed by courts, the most current version of the applicable laws should be consulted and can generally be found by using your search engine to locate the statutes referenced on this site. This website does not include all laws that may apply to registrants in any particular state.

Updated 9/22 State & Territorial Visitor Registration Laws Guide

Click HERE. It'll pop up on your screen in a separate window.

Summary Map Click HERE. It'll pop up on your screen in a separate window.

Updated 9/22 State & Territorial Visitor Registration Laws for FORMER & LONG-TERM Registrants

MANY REGISTRANTS DO NOT UNDERSTAND that most states have registration laws that apply to out-of-state visitors even if you have served your registration duty in your state of offense and are no longer required to register there. Violating these states' laws during your visit can get you caught in these states' registries or even incarcerated EVEN THOUGH you have been removed from your own state's registry!

Furthermore, you may be surprised to learn that some states' registration laws may not apply to visiting registrants who have, in your state of offense, served your registration duty for the number of years specified by law in the state you are visiting - even if you are still on the registry in your state of offense.

Because confusion surrounding this issue will be a growing problem as more and more Americans (including myself) become long-term or former registrants, I have researched the registration laws of every U.S. state and territory related to this issue.

Click HERE to see this new research.

NEW! 11/23 My 2023 NARSOL conference domestic travel presentation

I have given several presentations on domestic travel at NARSOL and other national conferences. My presentation at the 2023 NARSOL conferences was recorded and is now available as a You Tube video.

This is about an hour long but contains a lot of information about domestic travel, so Click HERE to watch.

The Traveling Registrant

The Once Fallen website offers this must-read information for all registrants planning to travel. Click here: http://www.oncefallen.com/travel.html

Unwelcome Images

My personal story of prison, probation and ... redemption? is posted on Medium. If you're interested you can click here:

https://therabbitisin.com/unwelcome-images-c06a3760b11a

Your first hurdle:

Permission to leave town

My state of offense (Florida) has a registry law that, like those of many other states, is completely silent on the question of what notice I as a registered person have to provide in the event that I intend to travel out of state temporarily but have no intention of establishing any “permanent residence,” “temporary residence” or “transient residence” in any other state. Instead, Florida’s SOR law reads as follows:

“A sexual offender who intends to establish a permanent, temporary, or transient residence in another state or jurisdiction other than the State of Florida shall report in person to the sheriff of the county of current residence within 48 hours before the date he or she intends to leave this state to establish residence in another state or jurisdiction … The sexual offender shall provide to the sheriff the address, municipality, county, [and] state … of intended residence … The department shall notify the statewide law enforcement agency, or a comparable agency, in the intended state [or] jurisdiction … of the sexual offender’s intended residence. The failure of a sexual offender to provide his or her intended place of residence is punishable as [a third degree felony].”

943.0435(7) FS.

Apparently, the drafters of Florida’s SOR law – and the many similarly worded statutes of other US states – never anticipated that a registered person would ever leave their state for any other reason than to establish a “permanent residence,” “temporary residence” or “transient residence” wherever they're going. Therefore I assume that I and many of you could legitimately assume we would be within our legal rights to just leave our state without telling anybody as long as you have no intention of, and scrupulously avoid, establishing any kind of residence that would violate your state’s statutes.

However, I DO NOT recommend doing this under any circumstances.

Why? Because there’s a 120% chance that your local sheriff’s department believes you have to tell them you’re leaving and where you’re going no matter what your state’s SOR law says or doesn’t say. Suppose you get pulled over somewhere for having a blown tail light. The sheriff’s deputy looks you up and discovers you’re an out-of-state registered offender. Next, he calls local law enforcement in your home state and asks, “Hey, did y’all know this guy was here?” They of course will say “No, we didn’t even know he left our state and we think that’s a registry violation – he is an ABSCONDER!” at which point you’ll be arrested, handcuffed and sent back to prison.

I don’t know about you, but that’s not how I want to spend my vacation.

Therefore I strongly suggest that you visit your local sheriff’s department or registry office and inform them of your intention to travel. I did this for the first time in October 2020, and have traveled out of state frequently since then, each time making sure to do so “within 48 hours before the date he or she intends to leave this state.”

Having gained some experience with traveling while registered I offer you the following advice:

Always notify your local law enforcement of your intention to travel and provide as much detail as possible about your travel plans. In particular, it helps to have at least one specific destination for your trip. Your local law enforcement is expecting you to have a destination. You probably do have at least one destination, and if it’s not a friend or relative’s home you probably had to make some kind of reservation ahead of time. Either way you know at least one address where you’ll be, so give it to the staff person behind the glass. They will feel more comfortable with this even if your plans include extended time to get to and return from the specific destination(s), during which you’ll be enjoying yourself.

I have found that if I give a general description of your travel, like some of the states you’ll be passing through, the staff person will happily enter that onto whatever form their filling out as “additional notes.” This may actually help you in case you get pulled over someplace because when the sheriff’s deputy calls your home state it’s all right there in the computer.

Recently I established a summer home in Iowa. Unlike Florida and many other states, Iowa’s registry law explicitly, but clumsily, addresses out-of-state travel. It says:

“[A] sex offender, within five business days of a change, shall also appear in person to notify the sheriff of the county of principal residence [i.e. the principle residence in Iowa], of any location in which the offender is staying when away from the principal residence of the offender for more than five days, by identifying the location and the period of time the offender is staying in such location.” 692A.105 IS.

While I was at my new Iowa sheriff’s department registering, getting photographed, fingerprinted and providing a DNA sample, I took the opportunity to ask how travel was going to work in my new state. I pointed out that although I can always provide a destination when traveling, there is no way I’ll be able provide locations and addresses ahead of time for every campground or motel room I might be staying at along the way.

The lady behind the bullet-proof glass stated that their policy for this type of travel is that I will need to keep a travel log for each trip, which I will need to turn in upon my return. This just shows how local sheriff’s departments come up with some policy to deal with these situations. As you know from reading elsewhere on this blog, I recommend you always keep a travel log as well as all receipts just in case you need to prove your whereabouts, so this sheriff’s department requirement, while ridiculous, turns out not to be a problem for me or anyone following my recommendations.

Monday, November 1, 2021

Commentary: Too paranoid?

Or not paranoid enough?

I am writing this blog entry after attending the 2021 NARSOL Conference in Houston. There I spoke to quite a few people who came to my display table to discuss their travel experiences or ask questions about travel.

You would think that registrants and advocates motivated enough to attend a NARSOL conference and hear the horror stories told there about abuses of police powers, would also be concerned enough about their own personal safety and legal exposure to take travel risks seriously.

But no. Just like at other occasions when I have had the opportunity to discuss registered travel, I was surprised how readily some people admit that they just get in their car or RV, or jump on an airplane, and go wherever without following the rules that apply to them, either those of their state of registry or the state(s) where they travel.

Not paranoid enough

People give all kinds of reasons for not following the rules. One very active member of the Florida Action Committee who was at the NARSOL conference maintains that these travel restrictions are an unconstitutional restriction on his right to travel, so he refuses to follow them on principal. Besides, he says, he has never been pulled over by the cops for a traffic violation in his entire life, so why should he worry about it now?

As to the unconstitutionality of registrant travel restrictions or for that matter the entire sex offender registry system in America, you’ll get no argument from me. Some of us (including some at the conference) hold out the dream of a mass movement in which we all march on Washington and engage in acts of civil disobedience to take the whole system to the Supreme Court and get it all overturned. In fact NARSOL & ACSOL are organizing a march on Washington in March 2023 (yes, over a year from now) and I will be enthusiastic about going.

While we all wait for this dream to come true, however, we are all stuck with the existing registry and I strongly recommend you DO NOT pretend it doesn’t apply to you. As for assuming you’ll never get pulled over for some stupid reason and have everything spin out of control, there have been far too many recent news stories about “driving while Black” not to take this possibility seriously.

Since starting my travel research and blog I have spoken to a number people who said: Gee whiz, I didn’t know I was supposed to report travel to my local sheriff! I just went on my trip(s) and nothing ever happened, so why should I worry about it on future trips? I have also had people tell me they know they’re supposed to follow the rules but they don’t – they just “fly below the radar” and hope for the best.

My advice in every case is, don’t do that! Now that you know what the rules are, it costs you very little to follow those rules. Report travel in advance. Buy a travel log book at your local office supply store and keep it up to date as you travel. Keep all your receipts so you can prove your whereabouts if asked. Download my 50 State Visitors Guide and bring it with you as you travel to refresh your memory. Yes, these are indignities that I chafe at too. But these precautions will keep you safe. I don’t want you to have an encounter with law enforcement, and have them call up your home town sheriff’s department to ask, “Did y’all know this guy was here in Texas?” and have them respond, “No, and we think that’s a registry violation!”

Too paranoid

One week after the 2021 NARSOL conference I listened in on ACSOL’s monthly Zoom call, which I habitually do. They are very informative. At the beginning of each call they ask the participants to vote on a list of topics, and then they discuss each topic in the order of importance, with the one receiving the most votes going first. PS they record these Zoom calls and you can listen to them by going to their website.

Travel (domestic & international) is always one of the top vote-getters on these Zoom calls. In fact, on the October 2021 ACSOL Zoom call travel was the #1 ranked topic, so they took it up first. I know from my own research that some of the information disseminated on these calls is inaccurate, although I make it my practice never to “raise my hand” and try to correct or disagree with anything Janice Bellucci says.

Instead, I will discuss two travel questions which came up on that October 2021 Zoom call (and have come up previously) and illustrate that there is such a thing as being way too paranoid.

One call participant asked (I am paraphrasing here), he had heard that some hotel chains have a policy of not allowing registered people at their establishments, and that some states or localities have laws that require hotels to notify all other guests of the presence of any registered person at their establishment. Janice’s response was (again I am paraphrasing) that to guard against this eventuality you should always call ahead and ask the hotel if they have any such policy. She also opined that if they say yes, that wouldn’t be a hotel you’d want to patronize anyway.

Well, I can’t disagree with that last sentiment. However, I completely disagree that there is any need for you to tell any hotel, motel, campground or other accommodation about your legal status and hand them an opportunity to refuse you service.

Why would you expose yourself to that kind of humiliation when you don’t have to? The truth is you DON’T have to, for one very good reason: at least as far as I know, there isn’t one hotel chain, private or public campground or other accommodation anywhere that has its computers tied into the national sex offender data base so they can check on your status and refuse to take your money. At least not yet, anyway. So until further notice, as far as I am concerned it’s none of their damned business!

On my most recent road trip to the Southwest I stayed at eight motels and seven campgrounds in nine states over 2 1/2 week period. The question of my registry status never came up, nor has it ever come up on any other cross country trip. So stop worrying about this.

Now, let me be clear: If while traveling and after consulting my 50 State Visitors Guide you know that a state or local regulation would preclude you from being present at or staying overnight someplace, you should definitely not stay there. For example, there are a few states that don’t want you to be near a swimming pool. Of course that’s stupid. Nevertheless it may influence your choice of motels. Some states don’t mind if you camp at a state park but want you to stay a certain distance from a playground. Before you check into the campground, check the vicinity for any lurking playground.

As you surely know, some states or localities have rules about how far you have to be from a school or park or daycare center. Before checking into a motel in such a place you may want to take a quick spin around the neighborhood. However, common sense is going to tell you that an isolated Interstate highway exit with a couple of motels, gas stations and fast food joints is likely to be pretty far from the nearest school or park or daycare center, so most of the time you’ve got nothing to worry about.

Another topic that comes up all the time on ACSOL Zoom calls is navigating the maze of local punitive regulations that have proliferated across America. I have heard Janice Bellucci recommend several times that before traveling you should carefully research the regulations in your proposed destination, or consult an attorney in that destination.

Technically, I can’t argue with that advice. If it makes you feel better to do all that research, or pay someone else to do it, I guess that’s what you should do. As a practical matter, however, if I researched in advance every regulation in every city or county I passed through on a two week road trip (a) I’d surely go insane, and (b) there’d be no time left for the actual road trip. There has to be some limit to the safeguards you need to take before traveling.

In this regard there is also another consideration: How much effort are all these local governments putting into policing all this maze of punitive regulations, especially as it relates to a visitor who’ll only be stopping for a night or two to visit the local tourist attraction? The answer is, no effort at all. These local regulations have been adopted to subjugate the local resident registrant population, and as punitive and unconstitutional as they may be, they couldn’t care less about you as a visitor. Go spend your money on tourism and trinkets and be on your way.

Since my state of registry is Florida, I will use Miami-Dade County – home of some of the most draconian presence and residency regulations in a state that already has some of the worst registry laws in the U.S. – to illustrate my point. I always recommend to any out of state registrant to never come to Florida no matter what. As you are reading this, Miami-Dade is forcing registrants from their homes and making us live under bridges and along railroad tracks, then sending in the cops to chase us away even from that. This is why I would never set foot in Miami.

And yet, if you as an out-of-state visitor ignore my advice and fly into Miami to go to your uncle’s wake – making sure to arrive early on Day 1, go to the funeral and family gathering, hit the beach the next morning and leave later on Day 2 because under Florida state law Day 3 would trigger you requirement to register and you definitely don’t want that to happen – anyway, when you check into your hotel for that one night stay nobody is going to check your registry status and no officer is going to show up to kick you out of your room. They’ve got actual crime to worry about.

And so it is across this great land of ours. Local governments enact stupid laws to please angry constituents and then never get around to enforcing those laws because they have better things to do.

Unless, of course, you show yourself to be a complete idiot by driving into town, parking next to a playground, sitting on a park bench while watching the children play and generally making yourself look like a suspicious person. Then when the cops do show up, they find out you’re a registered sex offender and throw the book at you.

Here’s my advice: don’t do that. If you follow this advice, and report your travel to your hometown sheriff’s department before leaving, and stick pretty close to the itinerary you gave them, and keep a travel log, and hang onto your receipts to prove your whereabouts … then you will be all right.

Atwo Zee, Registered Traveler

Monday, November 1, 2021

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