Community notification of the release of sex offenders has provoked opposition from offender treatment providers who fear that it does not enhance community safety and is a short-sighted response to the problem of sex offending. Many of the arguments opposing community notification misunderstand its role, are based on speculation, and might jeopardize the justifications for treatment alternatives. Both proponents and opponents of community notification should bear in mind that community notification is an experimental enhancement of sexual offender registration laws; is not intended as a substitute for prevention efforts and has never been suggested as such; and is one component of a social response to convicted sexual offenders. Concerns about negative impact on victims and families are speculative and create a distorted picture of the type of offender who is subject to notification. Citizens are claiming that notification will make them better able to protect their families. In the absence of evidence that negative effects of notification actually occur, great care should be taken before the sexual offender treatment community opposes the will of the public.