In terms of protection, keeping sex offenders 2,000 feet away from children is not too much to ask.

However, the Iowa Civil Liberties Union believes it is. The ICLU has challenged the Iowa state law forbidding convicted sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a school or day care — places where potential victims of sex offenders play, learn and enjoy life.

The law, the first restriction on residency for sex offenders in any state, went into effect July 1, 2002. The law applies solely to criminals who have committed offenses against minors, and does not effect sex offenders living within 2,000 feet of a school before the date it went into effect.

The ICLU fears that forbidding former sex offenders from certain parts of towns will force them to live close to one another, creating “penal colonies” for sex offenders.

“Herding former offenders into penal colonies may help get politicians re-elected, but it is a poor use of law enforcement dollars,” said Ben Stone, executive director of the ICLU, according to a press release by the organization.

In no way will this law create penal colonies. Despite what the ICLU would like people to think, the area that sex offenders are barred from is not all that large. Two thousand feet is less than half a mile. From one edge of the limit to the other it is less than a mile. Communities are generally quite a bit larger than a one mile in diameter, leaving plenty of space for them to live.

Also, if this law prevents just one child from being sexually molested or sexually harassed in any way, it is easily worth the money. The government has a legitimate, if not compelling, interest in protecting the youth of the state from the physical and mental scars caused by molestation or exposure to sex crimes.

Children, for the most part, are not capable of defending themselves. If an adult acts inappropriately toward them, there is absolutely nothing they can do to stop them. The government must protect them as much as possible.

This country was founded on the ideal of citizens commanding a government that would protect their rights. However, if one citizen ignores this duty and infringes upon the rights of another, it is the government’s job to punish that citizen, often by removing their right to liberty, and in some cases, their right to life is even taken away.

Sex offenders take away a child’s right to privacy and their right to be free of abuse. If the ICLU intends to protect the liberties of citizens, they should start by protecting the rights of those who have not taken away another’s rights.

Children also have liberties that need to be protected, and through this law, the Iowa state government is leading the nation on a path to do just that.Editorial Board: Nicole Paseka, Amy Schierbrock, Alicia Ebaugh, Ayrel Clark, Lucas Grundmeier