From Deseret News archives:
Smart plugs bill to tighten checks on child abusers
"This new bill, I think it's very good. It's very good because it will make it be a felony and not just a misdemeanor," 18-year-old Smart said of the Children's Safety and Violent Crimes Reduction bill.
Smart's comments were made to Sean Hannity during the Hannity and Colmes show Monday on the Fox News Channel.
The proposed legislation requires background checks on teachers, extends sex offender registration requirements and creates a national sex offender public Web site. In addition, it would ensure that the sex offender registry is updated and that states notify each other when a registered offender moves to another state. The bill already has passed the House.
"I forgive them and I just don't think about them anymore," Smart said of her alleged kidnappers, Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Barzee, who still await trial.
"I just move on and hope that, you know, I can help make this world a better place."
Elizabeth's father, Ed Smart, has been to Washington numerous times since his daughter's kidnapping, hoping to influence lawmakers on child-safety legislation. He told Hannity that if Mitchell ever got out of prison, "he would resume the same thing and I would hate to see anyone go through that."
"I think that the real benefit of the bill is that it's going to make the criminal responsible — that abductor, that predator, that sex offender," he said. "Right now, as a nation, we're not prepared to handle sex offenders."
Elizabeth Smart was kidnapped from her Salt Lake City home in 2002 and was missing for nine months. She was reunited with her family three years ago, in March 2003.
The second part of her interview for the Hannity and Colmes show will air today.
E-mail: astowell@desnews.com
