CA Democrats Kill Child Sex Trafficking Bill, MSM Makes Newsom the Hero
CA Democrats Kill Child Sex Trafficking Bill, MSM Makes Newsom the Hero
Did they forget Gov. Newsom signed a bill to protect sex offenders who have sex with minors?
By Katy Grimes, July 13, 2023
It’s all over the news: A bill to make sex trafficking a felony once again in California was blocked Tuesday in the Assembly Public Safety Committee by Democrats, after passing unanimously in the Senate, the Globe reported.
Currently human trafficking is defined as a “non-serious” crime which means the act of human trafficking cannot be considered a strike under California’s Three Strikes law.
Senate Bill 14 by Senator Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) was voted down in the Assembly Public Safety Committee with 6 Democrats abstaining and 2 Republicans voting “aye”… that means Democrats wouldn’t even commit to a “no” vote lest it look bad during reelection time.
The uproar over Democrats killing a bill to combat child sex trafficking (again) as a serious felony was felt across the entire state. Law enforcement, parents, educators, talk show hosts, were livid.
Senator Grove spent much of Wednesday addressing the outrage, as well as conferring with Assembly Public Safety Chairman Reggie Jones Sawyer, and even Governor Gavin Newsom. By the end of the day Grove held a press briefing updating media after having talks with Jones Sawyer, and Gov. Newsom, and said while the governor was also disappointed with the Public Safety Committee’s decision, he would help get the bill resurrected and passed.
Sir Galahad rides to the rescue? No, more likely is Governor Gavin Newsom is making another calculated campaign decision as he is the Presidential candidate in waiting.
Here is how the Associated Press reported this:
“California Gov. Gavin Newsom steps in to help revive a stalled bill on child trafficking.”
“California Gov. Gavin Newsom stepped in on Wednesday to help revive a bill in the state Legislature that would increase penalties for child trafficking in the state, siding with a Republican state senator over some members of his own party.”
What a great guy. Right?
Remember, this is the same Gov. Gavin Newsom who in 2020 signed Sen. Scott Wiener’s Senate Bill 145, which lowers the penalties for adults who have sex with same-sex minors. Think about that – Gov. Newsom signed a bill to protect sex offenders who have homosexual sex with minors. The bill allows a 24 year old to have sex with a 14 year old and escape a felony conviction and requirement to be a registered sex offender.
Couldn’t that be considered a form of sex trafficking?
Here’s Gov. Newsom campaigning his virtue:
He said he called Grove to talk about the bill, telling reporters that the call “is indicative of my desire to see what we can do with it.” Newsom said he “cares deeply” about the issue, noting he signed a state budget last year that included $25 million for services for children who had been victims of sex trafficking.
“I want to understand exactly what happened yesterday (in the committee),” Newsom said. “I take it very seriously.”
Isn’t that interesting. In 2020, he didn’t take it very seriously:
If there are any lingering doubts about Sen. Wiener’s intent with SB 145, the bill analysis is much more clear than Sen. Wiener:
“This bill states non-forcible sodomy, oral copulation, and sexual penetration with a minor do not require mandatory sex offender registration unless there is a ten-year gap between the minor and the other person. However, a court may still require registration if it deems appropriate. These offenses, when committed without force, where the minor was a willing participant and under the age of 14 are sometimes referred to as “Hofsheier offenses.” People v. Hofsheier (2006) 37 Cal.4th 1185 held that requiring mandatory sex offender registration for one such an offense – oral copulation – was unconstitutional if the state did not also require registration for a person convicted non-forcible sexual intercourse with a minor because it made an illegal distinction based on the sex act itself.”
“Non-forcible sodomy, oral copulation, and sexual penetration with a minor” is the first legal problem with this bill as it is against the law to have sex with a minor – gay or straight. The legal age of consent in California is 18 years of age. The age of consent refers to the age at which a person can legally consent to any sexual intercourse.
If there is a real inequity in the laws governing sex with minors, this bill is only undermining any sincere attempt to address that.
Democrats are on the wrong side of the law on this very serious issue, and Gov. Newsom knows it. California. Democrats have killed numerous bills to correct this since Proposition 57, passed in 2016 by voters, reclassified many serious heinous crimes as “non-serious.”
As Senator Grove reported, “California consistently ranks number one in the nation in the number of human trafficking cases reported to the National Human Trafficking Hotline. The California Attorney General notes that California is one of the largest sites for human trafficking in the United States, recognizes the serious nature of this crime, and has defined it as “modern day slavery.” “Human trafficking is among the world’s fastest growing criminal enterprises and is estimated to be a $150 billion-a-year global industry. It is a form of modern day slavery that profits from the exploitation of our most vulnerable populations.”
The Globe is pleased that Gov. Newsom is willing to right this wrong. He is doing the right thing, but for all of the wrong reasons. What about the minors “consenting” to non-forcible sodomy, oral copulation, and sexual penetration with adult men?
Politics takes precedence over principle.
Katy Grimes, the Editor of the California Globe, is a long-time Investigative Journalist covering the California State Capitol, and the co-author of California's War Against Donald Trump: Who Wins? Who Loses?
