Walkout at Occupy Boston over participation of convicted sex offenders

Some 20 Occupy Boston activists walked out of a general assembly tonight after a group of participants managed to table a proposal aimed at protecting people from level-3 sex offenders at Occupy Boston events.

Under the proposal, any level-3 offender - the most dangerous rating under state sex-offender laws - who is found out would be banned from Occupy Boston events for at least a week and then his or her status would be brought before a general assembly - Occupy Boston's decision-making body.

But four people, one a woman other activists had never seen before and another Paul Shannon, director of Reform Sex Offender Laws, which wants to eliminate sex-offender registries, raised objections and the matter was tabled.

Robin, who has been involved with Occupy Boston since its inception, rose and led a walk out over the perception the movement was placing the interests of rapists above participants who have been raped and their families and friends. In a series of tweets, she explained:

I want to say: I thought long and hard about [the walkout]. It wasn't a decision I came to lightly. I didn't pre-plan, exactly, but I thought long and hard about it throughout these GAs. I decided for sure once I said it here. I did it because there was/is no way in the process to respond to how horrifying this entire ordeal has been for women, survivors, parents, and our supporters. I also felt seriously disturbed that a bunch of strangers who came solely to block this proposal and will likely never return were able to do so via our seriously broken GA process. I am at an impasse. I don't know what to do. But I do think the mic check was helpful for some who felt silenced and/or traumatized by what had happened. SOMETHING needed to happen.

After the walkout, remaining participants passed a resolution against all forms of violence and said they would draft a more detailed plan within a month. Another Occupy Boston meeting tomorrow, however, may take the whole issue up again.