Families applaud ‘Adam Walsh’ child protection law

WASHINGTON – More than 100 relatives and friends of missing, exploited or murdered children gathered at the White House Thursday to watch President Bush sign the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act.

The law was named after Adam Walsh, 6, who was abducted from a shopping mall in Hollywood, Fla., 25 years ago to the day. He was found murdered 16 days later.

Adam’s father, John Walsh, the host of “America’s Most Wanted,” was wearing a white rose on his left lapel and described the day as “bittersweet.”

“We’ve tried to make sure Adam did not die in vain,” Walsh said in an interview after the ceremony. “People use the word ‘closure.’ It’s not about closure, it’s more about justice.”

The law creates what is being called the “S.W.A.T team for kids.”

“Our nation grieves with every family that’s suffered the unbearable pain of a child who’s been abducted or abused. This law makes an important step forward in this country’s efforts to protect those who cannot protect themselves,” Bush said.

Bush said the law integrates all state sex offender registries into a uniform National Sex Offender Registry and increases federal penalties for crimes against children. It creates regional Internet Crimes Against Children Task Forces to fund and train local law enforcement about sexual exploitation of minors on the Internet. It also creates a National Child Abuse Registry and requires background checks on adoptive and foster parents before they gain custody of a child.

“By enacting this law, we’re sending a clear message across the country: Those who prey on our children will be caught, prosecuted and punished to the fullest extent of the law,” Bush said.

Elizabeth Smart, 18, and her father, Ed Smart, were in the audience at the Rose Garden ceremony.

In 2002, Smart was abducted at knife-point from her bedroom in Salt Lake City. At a press conference after the ceremony held by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Smart said she supports the legislation.

“Anyone who hurts a child, in my opinion, doesn’t deserve to be here,” said Smart, who will be a freshman at Brigham Young University in the fall.

She said the law will keep track of sex offenders who just “don’t want to check in” with their probation or parole officers.

The Smarts greeted Mark Lunsford, the father of Jessica Lunsford, who was raped and murdered in 2005 at age 9. Lunsford, 42, still lives in Homosassa Springs Fla., near where the crime took place.

Wearing a tie with Jessica’s picture on it, he said he thinks about his daughter daily. He has worn the tie each of the six times he has lobbied in Washington.

In June, Lunsford was one of five people to win a national Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Award for Greatest Public Service Benefiting Local Communities for his work.

“I never really got any closure. I had a lot of anger. I probably could’ve done a lot of things, but I chose to use all that emotion this way,” Lunsford said.

In all, Lunsford has traveled to 14 states lobbying for sex offender and child protection legislation. He said the Adam Walsh law is a gift.

“It’s a memorial to her and to all children that says they do matter and we do notice them. It’s a way to protect them,” he said. “We can’t stop these kinds of crimes, but we can try to contain them."