Pokemon Go “Away”

I am tired of hearing about Pokemon Go!

At this point, I wish it would just Go Away!

Mostly I am tired of reading about under-educated and over-crazed parents who are worried that the Pokemon Go craze will lead their children straight into the hands of sex offenders.

First I would say to the parents, if this is your concern, go with your child when they play the game. Keep them safe.
Secondly I would ask the parents, “Why are you just worried about sex offenders? Plently of thieves and murderers out there too!” Plenty of people walking into traffic and falling into fountains while walking around with their heads down, staring at their phones playing the game, oblivious to their surroundings.

NY recently banned sex offenders from playing Pokemon Go. There hadn’t been any incidents of any children being harmed by sex offenders while playing the game, but in the govenor’s eyes it was the prudent thing to do, “for the safety of the children.”

Govenor Cuomo needs to stop the fear mongering and educate himself.
First, Govenor, everyone on the registry is not a “predator” so it might be best to stop using that word .
Most of those on the registry are American Citizens, with rights, who have served their time and deserve the basic human dignity of second chances without you muddling up the facts. President Obama holds America up as “a county of second chances”. Hard to get a second chance when you’re a registrant whose rights seem to be taken away at every turn.
Can the Govenor legally stop people from playing a game based soley on his own fears that 1 out of 850,000 registrants “might do something” ? Can you legally punish people “before” a crime is committed? How many “after the fact” restrictions can continue to be tacked on to those on the registry before they’ve had enough?

I would love to see an attorney with an interest in the rights of registrants take this on as a case.

Anyone out there?

And, finally, Gov. Cuomo directed the Dept. of Criminal Justice Services to work with Niantic, the maker of Pokemon Go, by supplying them with the latest version of the registry in the hopes that they can be the gatekeepers and keep sex offenders from getting the game app. Google and Apple have also been enlisted by the Dept. of Criminal Justice Services to get on board and be alert for “public safety concerns”.

So, now we having gaming companies in charge of games registrants can and can’t play? That is insanity.

It’s unfortunate that Govenor Cuomo thinks it’s OK to further ostracize law abiding registrants and trample their freedom because of what he perceives as their likelihood to commit future crimes if they play this game or other games like it.
Does he know that sex offenders have one of the lowest rates of recidivism? Does he care? Apparently not.

I’ve never played Pokemon Go and I don’t expect that I ever will, I have better things to do with my time. But at this point in the game, I personally, would be happiest if Pokemon Go would just Go Away!

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