California continues its march into madness this week, this time with a local city council deciding to overturn a law aimed at protecting kids from sexual predators.
The Simi Valley City Council decided to nix an ordinance that says registered sex offenders can’t answer their doors to trick-or-treating children, can’t decorate the outside of their homes or front lawns and are required to turn off outdoor lighting from five to midnight on Halloween night.
The council claims the law would not stand up in legal appeal- but parents were hoping it would have stayed around.
“As a mom I would support something like that,” Simi Valley resident Cindy Cole said at the council meeting.
“People are very angry over some of these acts that these type of people have committed,” added Chelsea Watson, another local.
The law was enacted in 2012 but has been the subject of at least two federal lawsuits.
“I definitely wouldn’t feel comfortable knowing that my son was trick-or-treating at a sex offender’s house,” said Watson. “However I think we need to think of the ramifications of making that person visible to the community.”
According to CBS Los Angeles, the lawsuits will be dismissed in light of the ordinance’s repeal.
