As you move the last box into your new house, your six year-old-daughter and ten-year-old-son run outside to play. You watch them smiling, remembering when you were that age and everything was simple; your only job was to have fun and eat your vegetables. Then you notice a man standing across the street watching your children and smiling. He sees you and you wave. He waves back then goes inside. You know that this is a good neighborhood, and your kids will be safe because Megan’s Law helped in your search for a safe neighborhood for children, free of sex offenders -- but how accurate is it? Has this law made people safer or put them in more danger?

The California version of Megan’s Law was put into effect in 1996, after Megan Kanka from New Jersey, was raped then killed two years earlier by a child molester who lived across the street. The law provides the public with information on sex offenders such as: name, address, age, height, weight, the offenses charged with and any distinguishing marks on their bodies. In 2004, assembly woman Nicole Parra approve assembly bill 488 which allows Megan’s Law to be available to the public on the Internet to easily access the information. The website also includes a picture of the criminal and a map of the area where they live.

Due to Megan’s Law, California now has the most expansive law regarding identification and location of sex offenders in the nation. The law allows law enforcement to notify groups such as, licensed day care facilities, schools and youth programs, that they may be at risk from sexual predators in their area.

Whether or not this law was a good idea is still in debate. Some people question the fairness of the sex offenders’ database listed online for the public to view. Many believe that once they’ve served their jail time, they should get a fresh start. Some offenders seek help and change their lives but are still ostracized by their neighbors. There are also instances where people are wrongly accused of being sexual offenders and have to live with that title for the rest of their lives.

“Megan’s law destroyed my life, I was 17 and kissed a 14-year-old girl, and was placed on Megan’s Law database, with that I lost multiple jobs, friends and family, all because of Megan’s Law. This law is so screwed up. It says, for a 17-year-old to do something with a 14-year-old is illegal but it’s the same thing when a high school senior dates freshmen, but that’s ok right? With having to deal with Megan’s Law I can not get into the military and that was my dream,” one male expressed on a public defender’s blog about Megan’s Law.

An anonymous mother commented on that same blog, expressing her dislike for Megan’s Law after her daughter, days away from turning 18, consented to sexual relations with her college boyfriend. But, because a school counselor intervened, the boyfriend now has to register every year for the rest of his life on the database, as a sex offender.

“A violent murderer may live on your street and the neighborhood would never know as they are not required to register. AIDS patients are not required to register. Drug addicts are not required to register; prostitutes are not required to register... Megan's Law was intended to protect us from repeat lewd and lascivious offenders that pose a true threat to society, not participants within consensual sex,” the mother said.

This Law also raises the question: is Megan’s Law causing more violence? According to a CBS article entitled, "Megan’s Law Might Have Gotten A Convicted Rapist Killed", 53-year-old convicted rapist Michael Dodele was found stabbed to death in his mobile home in Lake County, California. His neighbor, 29-year-old Ivan Garcia Oliver, was arrested after making comments suggesting he killed Dodele.

Oliver had a son who was molested in the past and said, “Society may see the action I took as unacceptable in the eyes of 'normal' people. [But,] I felt that by not taking evasive action as a father in the right direction, I might as well have taken my child to some swamp filled with alligators and had them tear him to pieces. It's no different.”

They later found that Dodele was not a child molester but had raped an adult woman. Megan’s Law said, “rape by force” and “oral copulation with a person under 14.” Clearly the website was not written correctly and Oliver got the impression that Dodele was a child molester.

It is obvious that Megan’s Law needs some fixing to make the information more accurate, but some people still believe it is helpful and better to have.

“I’m not sure of any statistics, but I think Megan’s Law has helped the state feel more at ease knowing that it exists. Moms and dads can go online and see their own neighborhood and the sex offenders that reside there. It makes people more conscience and aware, and that’s important,” said Will McClean a resident of the City of Sacramento.

“I think the law is more helpful than harmful because the general public is more knowledgeable about things now,” said Marcus Armstrong, father of 9-year-old son. “My son is safe where ever he goes because he’s aware of where he is. We talk about everything so he knows what’s going on.”

According to the San Francisco Police Department’s website, sex offenders are required to register their name and address with the local police department within five days of their release from prison. They must re-register every year within five days of their birthday, or if they move or change their name. Usually, this requirement is for life and if they do not properly cooperate it is considered a felony.

“Since the database has been available, the public has helped law enforcement identify offenders who are not registered with the correct address. Thanks to toughened California laws requiring annual registration, and making it a felony in some cases not to do so, it is estimated that the majority of California's registered sex offenders are in compliance with the registration requirement. This is a dramatic turnaround from a few years ago when a smaller percentage of the offenders in the state were thought to be properly registered,” states the website.

“Many laws affecting American Society today are inefficient and are subsequently rendered useless. However, Megan’s Law, in the manner in which it was written, identifies a purpose and a cause and helps protect society,” said Trenton Timm, a Sacramento Lawyer.

Several attempts were made to contact Nicole Parra without success.