At this very moment...

At this very moment, on two opposite sides of the Earth; two different hemispheres; two different cultures.. two people who long to be together are being kept apart because of the Adam Walsh Act. These two people are deeply in love and want nothing more than to share life together. This is not imaginary. No, this is real. This is me, and her.

The only thing; the ONLY thing keeping us apart is this sad piece of legislation that presumes to read peoples minds and intentions. It judges people before they do anything, and it takes away their ability to prove that they are simply like everyone else.

Some might say that I deserve it because of my crime. Because I was convicted of lewd and lascivious behavior, a non-person, no contact crime, that I should lose all my rights. After all, this landed me on the registry. But even if that were true and I deserved to lose my rights, what about her? Does she deserve this heartache, this pain, this agony? I think not.

See, sometimes people end up on the registry, not because they are genetically horrible people, not because they are perverted or sick, but because they simply made a truly bad decision in a difficult time of life. What if we were all judged by the things we did in our worst moments? Luckily, for most of us, we aren't judged by those acts in those times. We are all more than the sum of our mistakes; every last one of us.

But because of this one mistake that I made way before even knowing this amazing woman that makes the flowers smell better and the birds sing louder, she and I are both being punished now, years later. If I had only known what I was risking; the gamble that I was taking with her, I'm certain I would have acted differently. It's the only time in life that I've ever done anything like what I did. And for that, I created pain in her heart before I even knew who she was.

I know this law was written in an attempt to protect children, but she and I are adults, grown, mature adults who have learned from mistakes. All we want is to spend life together with love and respect and joy and sadness... all of this crazy life mixed together, being together. Is that so wrong? How can it be so hard for two people who truly love one another to be together... boundaries and countries and immigration laws be damned? Here's how... become a sex offender. Life changes forever. And people you don't even know now... well, they'll be affected in the future. Because once you on the list, everything changes.

I love you, my precious one. More than you know. If I could go back and change all of the things that happened to save you this pain, I'd do it in an instant. But the fact is, the path that I began on that day somehow led me to you. I pray you'll hold on tight. Keep loving. Keep believing. Somehow, we'll make it through.