Deborah Ross on the Defensive over Dangerous ACLU Career | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Press Release:

"A heartless liberal fighting to protect sex offenders' rights over victims? That's damning stuff for voters to hear in one of Democrats' most promising pickup opportunities. And Democrats know it."

    Raleigh, NC     Deborah Ross' dangerous ACLU record was the subject of several stories yesterday following the Burr campaign's latest TV ad highlighting her opposition to the creation of the North Carolina Sex Offender Registry. Ross and her liberal DC allies are already fretting over the coverage of her radical ACLU tenure, and after seeing some of the stories it's no wonder.

    Bottom Line: Ross fought against a bill that simply established the sex offender registry so that members of the public are aware of the convicted offenders in their community. She has not "always" supported a sex offender registry. Any objection to the registry being available to public is an outright objection to the intended purpose of the registry.

    Below are a few highlights from yesterday's coverage:

    The Washington Post:

    · "A heartless liberal fighting to protect sex offenders' rights over victims? That's damning stuff for voters to hear in one of Democrats' most promising pickup opportunities. And Democrats know it."

    · "Republicans counter that if you have to explain why you have troubles with a sex offender registry, then you're already losing the debate. They point to news articles from the '90s where she expressed concern about 'vigilantism.'"

    · "Democrats don't argue Burr's ad could be bad news for their candidate. They shared with The Fix internal polling that shows Ross takes a significant double-digit hit after voters see Burr's ad about the sex offender registry."

    The News & Observer:

    · "Both Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Burr's campaign and the Senate Leadership Fund - a super PAC is connected to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell - posted attack ads that used the sex offender issue to question Ross' commitment to protecting children. The campaign and the super PAC are legally required to operate separately."

    · "In a memo Ross wrote to ACLU members while leading the group in the mid-1990s, she said the registry 'would make it even harder for people to reintegrate into society and start over and could lead to vigilantism.' She also argued that the registry might harm victims who were abused by family members because the victims' names could become public by association."

    Politico:

• "GOP Sen. Richard Burr's latest TV ad in North Carolina attacks Democrat Deborah Ross, featuring a testimonial from a rape victim and targeting Ross' opposition to the state's sex offender registry during her tenure at the American Civil Liberties Union."
• "'I served in the United States Marine Corps. I was sexually assaulted. I woke up to this person, raping me,'" says Kelly Lowe, who was a sergeant in the Marines. "'Deborah Ross opposed the North Carolina sex offender registry. She wants to protect sexual predators over victims. When they choose to rape, they don't get those rights back.'"
• "The ad's narrator takes over, saying that Ross warned 'of the repercussions to sex offenders' and worried 'about their right to privacy.'"

    Associated Press:

• "Burr's statewide campaign commercial accuses Ross of opposing the registry as it passed the General Assembly in the 1990s, when she worked with the American Civil Liberties Union. It features a Marine Corps veteran who says she was raped. Ross 'wants to protect sexual predators over victims,' Kelly Lowe of Onslow County says in the ad. 'When they choose to rape, they don't get those rights back.'"
• "The General Assembly established the registry in 1995, requiring people convicted of certain sex crimes to account for themselves with the sheriff in the county where they lived. Burr's ad cites a memo Ross wrote to ACLU leaders then, predicting it 'would make it even harder for people to reintegrate into society and start over and could lead to vigilantism.'"

• Contact: Jesse Hunt
•     jhunt@burrforsenate.com