Rep. Nancy Mace announced a bill Thursday aimed at protecting women and children from registered sex offenders in emergency shelters during natural disasters.
Mace's (R-S.C.) bill, the Safe Haven Act, is modeled after Florida's policy, which would require the government to lock up certain buildings and shelters for sex offenders to keep everyone else safe. Designate a shelter.
The bill states that “eligible sex offenders may not enter or use the services of a non-designated shelter, except for the purpose of seeking information about the designated shelter.'' .
Under the Safe Haven Act, administrators at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) would be tasked with determining appropriate emergency spaces for registered sex offenders.
According to the bill, FEMA could look to federal buildings and prisons that the General Services Administration deems appropriate to house sex offenders.
The lawmaker teased the bill earlier this week.
“Why stop there? All sex offenders should also be banned from all shelters. We have bills for this,” she said. I wrote to X Reply to a post about keeping men out of women's shelters.
Her law specifically applies to individuals on the national sex offender registry. Willfully violating the policy may result in fines and up to five years in prison.
A similar policy is in place in Florida. almost 20 yearssought to address the hurricane season.
Mr. Mace's bill proposal also became a model. florida state regulations The person who implements the policy.
Palmetto State Republican; Who came forward? As a rape victim, I have previously introduced legislation targeting sex offenders. For example, back in April, she submitted an amendment Border laws that automatically deport sex offenders.
The lawmaker announced Tuesday that she was “physically assaulted” inside the Capitol “over my fight to protect women,” and later posted a photo on social media of herself wearing a sling.
Her office said Wednesday that she was in pain and could release limited details due to the ongoing investigation.
The suspect, James McIntyre, 33, from Illinois, was later taken into custody by Capitol Police at the Rayburn House Office Building in connection with the incident.
McIntyre pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges of assaulting a government official.
A police report then said Mace said the suspect “began waving his arms up and down in an aggressive and exaggerated manner.”
“The victim stated that he attempted to remove his hands from the subject, but the subject held him down,” the report added.
Last month, Mace introduced legislation that would require transgender people to use restrooms in federal buildings that correspond to their biological sex at birth.
She also supports a similar bill limited to the U.S. Capitol, pre-empting incoming Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Delaware), who is set to take the oath of office next month.
McBride is the first openly transgender member of Congress to be elected to Congress.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) subsequently announced a policy that would restrict transgender women from using bathrooms reserved for biological women.
Mace later spoke by phone with President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday regarding the alleged altercation at the Capitol.
“Mr. President, thank you for checking in on me and standing up for women. I can't wait to be back in the White House,” she wrote to X.
