In the Why?!? Corner...

The ACLU is helping a group of concerned citizens lift the local school district's ban on parents with felony records to volunteer in classrooms.

What?

Yes... They want people who have committed bad enough crimes to fall into the "Big F" category to  help out around the kids. Check it:

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2010/11/aclu_urges_grand_rapids_school.html

Let's be fair: I'm all about forgiveness. I am after all a Christian. Everyone deserves a second chance.

But do it somewhere else.

We have enough problems with sex offenders - the one's we've caught and not- approaching schools. We've got a full time job in the vigilance arena trying to stop potential criminals from entering the school zones. If anything happens even remotely near a school the media goes gaga over it. No, not Lady Gaga either. That's just silly.

They're asking for "individualized screening". In other words, having a felony shouldn't outright discredit you from volunteering. You should have an opportunity to explain your criminal activity. Heck, you might be a cute and cuddly felon, not an icky-sticky one.

If you are a felon, you have demonstrated that you can't abide by the rules. I don't know too many felonies that are in the "oops" category. the woman in the article wrote bad checks years ago. Okay, did Old Scratch move your hand on the signature line? You made a bad decision. You may have very well improved your life and won't ever do it again. Sorry. You're in the felon bin.

Don't want restrictions on your freedom? Don't be a felon. Sounds like common sense.

Why is it we have these advocacy groups pop up and support these "feel good" stories on the pretext that America is somehow to blame for people being arrested for felonies. Click that link and read the third paragraph from the bottom. Why do we jail people? Because they are criminals. Do we make mistakes? Sure, but we can't be THAT wrong THAT often...

In the eyes of some of our citizens, the police are viewed as the mindless jackbooted arm of oppression sent forth to incarcerate the poor for no reason. I have never attended a forum for the "Oppression Target of the Month" club, though my status as a cop lumps me in there. It's even worse that I'm white. That makes everything I do tantamount to depriving someone of their civil rights. No matter how much I try to SERVE (the word after PROTECT), I get lumped into the pot with the real racist cops. Trust me, I've met some in my 14 years. They need to be put out of the business too.

But back to the issue, these folks made big mistakes in their lives. Bad enough to have big punishments hung on them for particularly damaging crimes. Using the story as an example, have you ever fought with a bank over a disputed check that was cleverly forged? Now we should give them a hug, say we're sorry, and give them access to other people's kids?

Nope. Not on my watch.

Chip Grefski