Out of sight, out of mind

State lawmakers today agreed on a bill that would let them keep sex offenders locked up after they've served their sentences to keep them from reoffending.

Sounds great. Everybody likes locking up sex offenders, right?

But the way I see it, they're sort of like your garbage. You put it in the bag, you take it out to the curb, and it goes away, and you don't have to look at it or think about it. You don't have to see where it goes, look at the big landfill, that environmentally unfriendly eyesore. You put it in the can, and then it's gone, not your problem anymore.

It's the same with the sex offenders. They'll be gone, taken away like the trash, locked up where we don't have to deal with them. But here's the thing -- where do they go?

The bill says that they'll be locked up in "psychiatric facilities." Everybody seems to be nodding over this, "oh, okay," without asking any of the tough questions. I'd really like to know exactly what kinds of facilities these will be and whether this push to lock up sex offenders will end up taking up spaces that could have been used for non-criminal folks in need of mental health services.

I hope lawmakers decide to clear these details up before rushing to pass this bill.