LGBT Activists Speak Out Against CA Bill That Would Make Child Sex Trafficking a Felony (Video)
In Gavin Newsom’s California, protecting children from sex trafficking is controversial.
Senate Bill 1414 (SB 1414), introduced in the California Senate by Senator Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield), aims to make soliciting sex from a minor a felony.
It is hard to imagine that a bill to protect children from sex trafficking would receive opposition, and yet it has.
Members of the LGBT community recently spoke out against the bill claiming the “harsher penalties” will impact minorities, especially the Queer community, disproportionately.
One activist speaking against the bill to protect children told legislators, “We stand against any punitive measure that perpetuates systematic injustices and emphasize instead the need for community-based solutions.”
Wouldn’t opposing a bill to protect children be an actual example of perpetuating systematic injustice? Against children?
And why were those who spoke out against the bill so convinced their own communities would be so highly impacted by harsher penalties from a bill to reduce child trafficking?
The activists seem to want to stick with the current consequences under the law, where the solicitation of a minor for sex is classified as a misdemeanor, which can result in a maximum penalty of one year in county jail and a fine of up to $10,000.
SB 1414 upgrades these crimes against children to a felony, with penalties including a prison sentence of 2 to 4 years and a fine of up to $25,000. The bill also mandates registration as a sex offender for those convicted of this offense.
Under existing law, if the person solicited was a minor, and the person who solicited the minor knew or reasonably should have known that the person solicited was a minor, the offense is punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for a mandatory minimum of 2 days and not to exceed one year, by a fine not to exceed $10,000 or by both such fine and imprisonment.
This bill would instead, if the person solicited was a minor, regardless of whether or not the person knew or reasonably should have known that the person solicited was a minor, make the offense punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for 2, 3, or 4 years, and a fine not to exceed $25,000.
Watch:
LGBTQ activists speak out against SB1414, a California bill which would make it a felony to purchase children for s*x. They claim it will affect LGBTQ people more.
When they tell you who they are, believe them.
pic.twitter.com/q5PKqebImt— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) July 8, 2024
The morally bankrupt California State Legislature cannot even make THE PURCHASE OF CHILDREN A FELONY…
Think about that.
The Governor of California is @GavinNewsom #SB1414 https://t.co/lSVlH972Iq— Rob Schneider (@RobSchneider) July 10, 2024
The opposition to SB 1414 is not entirely surprising when recalling that Newsom signed a law that protects sex offenders who have sex with minors of the same sex.
California Senate Bill 145 was signed into law in 2020 and addresses the state’s sex offender registry laws, specifically regarding young LGBTQ+ individuals.
The bill, authored by State Senator Scott Wiener, is aimed at eliminating discrimination against LGBTQ+ youth by allowing judges to have the same discretion in cases of oral and anal sex as they do with vaginal intercourse involving minors aged 14 to 17 and adults within a 10-year age range.
In other words, Scott Wiener is arguing that a 14-year-old boy can actually consent to sex with a 24-year-old grown man (predator).
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