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Oklahoma
State Senate
OFFICE
OF SENATOR JAY PAUL GUMM
Atoka, Bryan, Coal, Johnston & Marshall Counties
For Immediate Release: April 20, 2010
Sen. Jay Paul Gumm
Governor Signs Bill Enlarging Zone of Safety
for Children
State Senator Jay Paul Gumm said Oklahoma now has
a stronger law on the books when it comes to protecting children
from sexual predators. That’s after Gov. Brad Henry signed
Senate Bill 2064 into law on Tuesday. The measure, by Gumm, a Democrat
from Durant and Rep. Randy Terrill, R-Moore, increases the “zone
of safety” around schools, childcare facilities, playgrounds
and parks.
Under the previous statute, sex offenders were prohibited from loitering
within 300 feet of those places where children congregate. The new
law extends the zone of safety to being within 500 feet of the locations.
“Senate Bill 2064 actually does two things. Its purpose is
to keep convicted sex offenders farther away from children and teenagers,
and it puts new restrictions on sex offenders who must enter zones
of safety in order to pick up or drop off their own children,”
Gumm said.
According to the new law, registered sex offenders who have legitimate
business in the area only could be within that zone of safety for
a “reasonable” amount of time and would have to inform
the school or childcare facility of their status as a sex offender
prior to entering the area. Further, the offender would have to
inform the facility of the specific time he or she will be in the
zone.
“I want to thank my fellow legislators for supporting this
measure, as well as Representative Terrill for agreeing to serve
as House author—and of course, we deeply appreciate Governor
Henry’s support,” Gumm said. “Anything we can
do to better protect Oklahoma children from these predators is going
to make our state a better place for families and law-abiding citizens.”
For more information, contact:
Sen. Gumm: (405) 521-5586
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