Over the past year, PARSOL ran a campaign to hold the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) accountable to a law then-Governor Wolf signed in 2018, requiring PSP to implement a telephonic verification system for Pennsylvania’s Megan’s Law registrants in Tiers II and III — those required to verify their information two or four times a year. After months of getting the…
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Pennsylvania State Representative Aaron Bernstine recently announced plans to close a gap in the state’s child protection laws. Unlike adoption and foster care, surrogacy currently allows people who are listed on the “sex offender” registry to become legal parents without background checks or judicial review. His bill targets the person who is the biological parent (sperm or egg donor). After…
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Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes horrified the world, and they should have. The scale of his abuse, the power he wielded, and “the system” failures that allowed him to keep offending are deeply disturbing. When his name appears in the news, it is often preceded by three words: “convicted sex offender.” Those words are accurate, but they also carry a hidden danger…
Read More![PARSOL Board Chair Josiah Krammes speaks at the PA Capitol Rotunda flanked by State Reps. Emily Kinkead and Tim Briggs (28 Oct 2025) [John Dawe/PARSOL]](https://parsol.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/stuckIn1995_rally_header.avif)
HARRISBURG, PA – October 28, 2025 – The Pennsylvania Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws (PARSOL) Advocates gathered at the Pennsylvania Capitol Rotunda today to mark thirty years since the enactment of Pennsylvania’s Megan’s Law and to call for modernization of the state’s sexual offense laws which were signed into law by then- Governor Tom Ridge on October 21, 1995. “Our…
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This year marks the 30th anniversary of Pennsylvania’s registry. Thirty years. That’s three decades of a policy born in the “tough-on-crime” panic of the 1990s, still alive today despite overwhelming evidence that it doesn’t make communities safer. As a PRR, I know what it means to live under a system that has barely changed since its inception. At its core,…
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Today the U.S. Sentencing Commission released its 2025 amendments to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. The amendments will take effect in 6 months unless Congress overrides them. ACTION NEEDED:USSC is seeking comment on retroactivity of the amendments. Comment Deadline: June 2 ANALYSIS: The below analysis uses the term “sex offender” in direct quote reference to the USSC’s language in the guidelines…
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A group of persons required to register, members of their families and supporters demonstrated unity in Washington, D.C. this week in a unity conference and a vigil near the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court. Both events included leaders and members of multiple organizations that support registrants and their families, including PARSOL, NARSOL, ACSOL, WAR, Florida Action Committee, SHINE, United…
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Pennsylvania’s “Sexual Offender” Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) was designed to enhance public safety by tracking individuals convicted of sexual offenses. However, an analysis of the current registry data reveals a troubling reality: more than half of the state’s Persons required to register (PRRs) are on the list for life. This raises serious concerns about the effectiveness, fairness, and consequences…
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The following Opinion/Editorial appeared in the December 20, 2024 issue of MerionWest. Portez Smith arrived outside Jesse Grover’s Pennsylvania duplex early on Sunday, November 17th of this year, yelling through the closed door, “Grover, you’re a f—ing pedophile.” When Grover opened the door, Smith pulled out a gun and shot him to death. Grover was registered on Pennsylvania’s sex offender…
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Harrisburg, PA – 12/11/24—The Pennsylvania Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws (PARSOL) strongly opposes the proposal by Fayette County State Representative Ryan Warner to introduce legislation permitting the death penalty for individuals convicted of child sexual abuse. While protecting children is a paramount concern, this measure raises profound ethical and legal issues that cannot be ignored. PA RESIDENTS: Click Here…
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