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Passport Mark For Sex Offenders Challenged Again In CA

SACRAMENTO (AP) — A group representing sex offenders is trying again to block a law that requires a marker to be placed in the passports of people convicted of sex offenses against children.

Attorney Janice Bellucci sued Thursday in federal court in Los Angeles on behalf of her organization, the Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws, and two California sex offenders.

Opponents of the marker have called it a "Scarlet Letter." Former President Barack Obama signed the law in 2016 to comply with a provision of the International Megan's Law.

A San Francisco-based federal judge dismissed an earlier version of the lawsuit in 2016 because the rules were not yet in place.

The State Department said in October it would start using the notices. The department says it won't comment on lawsuits.

(© Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast rewritten or redistributed.)

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