About
We are federally recognized non-profit organization working to create awareness and build enough support to file a ballot initiative requiring strong mandatory sentences for child pedophiles in Massachusetts. Protect Mass Children is non-partisan and does not support any single political party. We do not advocate any form of violence and our mission is solely based on protecting children.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services, in 2007 Massachusetts ranked #1 for child abuse and neglect. In 2008 the rates doubled. Child victimization has been growing rapidly in our state and more needs to be done to protect the children. Our laws remain one of the weakest in the nation as pedophiles are released back into the community after an average of 5 years in prison.
It is apparent that child predators have an extremely high re-offense rate. We believe the only way to truly prevent child predators from re-offending is by keeping them in prison where they can no longer be a danger to the community. Knowing it would take far too long to pass strong mandatory sentences through our legislature, we came to the conclusion that we could achieve our goals by using the ballot initiative process.
We are working to gain the support of 125,000 Massachusetts families to file a ballot initiative amending our child protection laws. Through petition we can pass the strongest child pedophile laws in the nation.
Please help us protect our children.
How does a ballot initiative work?
A ballot initiative in Massachusetts consists of two distinct stages in order to turn an initiative into a state law successfully. The first stage consists of garnering enough support to place a question on the ballot. This is a long and complex process. The second stage, which is more straightforward, is when the ballot question, having been approved for the ballot by the Secretary of the Commonwealth, comes to a vote in a general election.
In Massachusetts, the requirement for placing a question on the ballot is as follows: 3% of the number of citizens who voted in the previous gubernatorial election must be shown to support the initiative for it to be eligible to make the ballot in the next election. For example: in 2006, in the last gubernatorial election, 2,243,835 voters cast votes for Governor of the Commonwealth; 3% of 2,243,835 is 66,593, meaning that 66,593 registered voters must be shown to support the initiative in order for it to be considered, otherwise it fails. These exact numbers will change following the 2010 gubernatorial election, but the percentages will remain the same.
The way that the Commonwealth certifies support for a ballot initiative is through verified signatures. These must be verified through the precinct in which an individual is registered to vote. For example: if you are a voter registered in Fall River, you would need to sign the petition form that is certified by the election commissioners in Fall River where you are registered.
This is why it is important for Protect Mass Children to collect accurate information about you. Your personal information will not be sold to any third party for any purposes. But we must be able to contact you in order for you to sign the ballot initiative for your specific precinct.
Once the requisite 3% of registered voters has been shown to support the initiative, it is then considered by the legislature on Capitol Hill. The Senate and House can deny the initiative. However, if an initiative is denied by the legislature, their decision can be overruled. If the group supporting the initiative can produce certified signatures of support from an additional 0.5% (11,099 in 2006) of the registered voters in the previous gubernatorial election, then the initiative goes forward onto the ballot.
Once the question is on the ballot, it consists of a simple yes or no vote, which should be very familiar to most registered voters. If a question garners a yes vote from more than 50% of voters in the election, it becomes a Massachusetts State law within 30 days.
Protect Mass Children is currently in the process of gathering information from supporters. In order to ensure that our goal of getting our initiative on the ballot is met, our intention is to have the support in place prior to collecting official signatures from individual precincts. When our base of support is large enough, Protect Mass Children will shift its focus from gathering support to gathering official signatures. Then, once the official signatures have been verified and the question is on the ballot, Protect Mass Children will shift its focus to a campaign to raise public awareness and support for a yes vote on the ballot question.