American Passports And Registered Sex Offenders – Should They Be Permitted To Acquire Them?

There are few documents that hold the importance and privilege as a US passport. In fact, it is such a valuable document that many feel a person who has been convicted of a sex crime should not be permitted to obtain one. You may not be aware that out of the sixteen million passports that were issued in 2008, 4,500 of them were issued to registered sex offenders who had been released from jail. 

First, it’s important to understand the definition of, “sex offender.” This is an incredibly broad term that covers many different degrees and types of criminal activity. Everything from the guy who relieved himself outside of a bar caught for indecent exposure to convicted pedophiles and rapists is covered by this phrase. The United States Department of State grants passports to any of these cases, except for those specifically guilty of sex tourism. While it seems unfair to tag the indecent exposure case with the same title as the cases involving sexual abuse of children, some say it’s difficult to draw the line.

Some people feel this right should not be restricted hoping the sex offender will commit their crime in a foreign country where the penalties are much more severe than here in the United States. This opinion holds to the idea that once the debt is paid, they should be allowed to travel as much as they please and if they are caught in another country committing a crime, perhaps the harsh punishment will finally teach them a lesson.

Another viewpoint is this: if a criminal is caught, convicted, and put in jail for a certain amount of time, they have paid their debt to society once they are released. Whether it’s a guy who spent a night in jail for dropping his trousers on the side of the road or someone who has spent fifty years behind bars for a sex crime, the people behind this view believe that they shouldn’t be further ostracized from their rights as American citizens by being denied passports. They believe that while a criminal conviction can potentially keep them from getting a job or a place to live, they shouldn’t be denied access to the world.

You see, American passport requirements are strictly defined; and currently, those who have been released from jail, whether they are sex offenders or murderers, are permitted to get an American passport. There is, however, a restricted group and that includes sex tourists, those who have neglected to pay court mandated child support, drug traffickers and those currently in jail. This is because of the flight risk involved.

You can see that a USA Passport is a very valuable booklet and some feel that the privileges it gives should be withheld from sex offenders while others do not share that opinion. The United States passport requirements have been established to keep passports out of the hands of criminals and terrorists but those who have already been caught and punished for their crimes are still given this privilege. Many who are not permitted to have them manage to obtain stolen or forged passports to conceal their identity and further enable them to perpetrate their crimes. This is certainly a very important question that needs an answer.