A federal judge on Monday blocked Georgia from targeting eight individuals with its sweeping law that would bar sex offenders from living near school bus stops.
Many states have barred offenders from working and living near schools, but Georgia’s law goes father by restricting them from living or working within 1,000 feet of a school bus stop.
The temporary restraining order by U.S. District Judge Clarence Cooper applies only to the eight plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed by the Southern Center for Human Rights.
The law, due to go into effect statewide Saturday, would make it nearly impossible for Georgia’s more than 10,000 registered sex offenders to live in urban and suburban areas, said Sarah Geraghty, a lawyer for the Southern Center for Human Rights. It will “banish people from their homes,” she said.
Lawyers for the state said the law is necessary for public safety.
Both sides will be back in court July 11, and the plaintiffs’ lawyers said they hope to persuade the judge to overturn the new bus stop limits for all sex offenders.