The telling of the sex crime account divides California Democrats

From Jean QuangCalmness

This story was originally published by CalmattersS Register about their ballots.

California Republicans have developed something like a formula in the state legislative body.

Press to raise penalties for certain types of sexual crimes such as minors for traffic. Press the Democrats, many of whom remain cautious about increasing sentences in prison in Expiring flowering of the reform of criminal justiceAbout the details. Have Daytime In the media with outrageousS

This has become a reliable way for the last three years to achieve small victories for the Superminority Party. Even if Republicans are not always successful in accepting legislation, they can use it to expose errors to the opposite country that dominates the Capitol, or even Tick ​​some maintenance From the actual democratic leader of the country, governor Gavin Newpom.

This strategy has made them win bilateral approval for accounts to increase penalties for sexual trafficking for children and attract 15-year-old children and under sex.

The last such episode erupted in the Assembly this week when Republicans tried to encourage Democrats to increase penalties to attract 16 and 17-year-old children for sex or prostitution. This crime is a crime punishable between two days to a year in prison.

Raising involves requesting or organizing sex in exchange for money or something valuable; Many other sexual crimes involving minors at any age are crimes, including payment and sex with a minor.

This time the Republicans had the support of the freshman democratic Magi Crell Assemblyof Sacramento who is the author Assembly Bill 379S Crell objected on Tuesday when her colleagues removed the provision for the request of older minors, saying that the Democrats fellow Democrats forced her to agree that the Public Safety Committee would refuse to hear the other way.

When the Republicans said they would try to add the provision to another bill on the floor on Thursday, it distorted the democratic leadership by supporting them.

“We have to say, strongly and clearly that if you are under 18, a child, a minor … The person who buys that person should be charged with a crime,” she said on the meeting. “It’s simple and simple, sex without consent – it’s rape.”

Some moderate Democrats have joined her, publicly unbuttoning their colleagues to enter a political mini.

“In some way, while our President tanns our economy and deport innocent children, the American people still do not trust the Democrats,” Bakers said Assembly of Jasmeet Bains assemblyS “Every healthy person knows that buying a 16th and 17-year-old for sex should be a crime, not a crime. This should not be a debate.”

A rare intervention from Newsom

The Democrats already did the same last year.

When they have adopted a Republican bill to increase penalties to attract minors, they have carved 16 and 17-year-olds of concern that the provision will refer to older teens who agree to relations, the same as trafficking people. With the adoption of this law, the attraction of minors, who are 15 or more than a young man, is punished by up to three years in prison.

Newsom also earlier this week issued a statement Support of higher penalties For minors of all ages – a rare but not unprecedented intervention by a governor who occasionally ramms fellow progressives when he thinks they have gone too far.

Republican efforts failed on the floor of the Assembly on Thursday, although they received support from the Democrats, such as Baines. And she forced the Democrats in a defense mode.

They inserted a language into the bill expressing their “intention” to deal with the issue of older teens and continue to discuss the issue in future hearing this year. Installation Speaker Robert Rivas Also undressed the name of Crel from the bill and wrote in two democratic co -authors, Assembly President of Public Safety Nick Schultz and Elk Grove Assembly Member Stephanie NguyenModerate Democrat.

Schultz, a Democrat from Burbank, said he plans to hold information hearing on the matter and hopes to accept some form of amended bill this fall. The bill, without higher penalties to attract older teenagers, heads to the Budget Loan Committee for the Assembly.

The Assembly freezer Carl DemeyoA Republican from San Diego has promised to make the Democrats pay for this move in the next election.

“I do not think the voters will fall for it and I will spend every day in work to guarantee it,” he said.

Progressives warn of “unintentional harm” to teenagers

Crel, a former sexual crime prosecutor known for taking backpage operators on the traffic website, presented the AB 379 to direct the buyers of teenagers in sexual trading.

It is supported by Republicans, organizations that help the survivors, law enforcement agencies, including Sacramento Sacramento Sacramento Sacred Jim Cooper and Lieutenant Elen Kunalakis. The proposal would make a crime worsen with the intention of buying sex and using the fines from these fees for financing the survivor trafficking services.

Crel’s colleagues have no problem with that. But they objected to the inclusion of the bill to make the request of 16- and 17-year-old “exciting” on the first crime, which means that he could be charged as a crime or crime. They had just removed an identical provision of a law from a Republican Senator Shannon Grovefrom Bakersfield, last year, who requested 15-year-old children (or any minor who was victims of traffic) “wolf” at the first crime.

Progressives, defenders of the reform of criminal justice and other organizations that help survivors, deal with blurry lines in the relationships of some young people. In the statement Anninwn, director of Smart Justice California, said the provision “risks unwanted harm to minors”.

Democrats said they did not want to allow older teens to be charged with crimes if their parents do not approve of interracial or LGBTQ agreement.

“Sending an 18-year-old Senior High School to the State Prison for offering his 17-year-old classmate $ 20 to be misled is not an intelligent criminal justice policy,” ” Senator Scott WienerDemocrat from San Francisco, writes on social media this week.

Wiener was one of the legislators who demanded that the 16th and 17-year-olds be eliminated last year. Through a speaker, he refused to comment further.

Proponents of the legislation said these concerns are largely hypothetical. They have countered that prosecutors will not spend time accusing teenagers who have consensus sex. (The legal age of consent is 18.) Grove, who co -authored Crel’s bill, said it was already a crime to pay for sex with every minor, every conversation and conclusion of transactions preceding this act should be stopped.

But Schultz and Rivas accused their critics of playing politics and wrongly affirms the laws in force. In addition to being a crime to have sex with a minor, it is also a crime to contact any minor in order to commit a sexual crime and send sexual text messages to minors.

“No one in the room is wrong with the minors sold for sex,” Rivas said. “This is a nuanced question and conversation.”

Schultz would not share details of how he envisaged to change the bill to include 16- and 17-year-olds later this year, but said he was considering provisions that reduce penalties for the alleged offender, if he was close to the victim’s age-like the laws of the state’s racked in legal laws.

Rivas rejected the idea that the question became political responsibility for Democrats.

“There are always high bets here,” he said. “Our engagement is to be fine.”

This article was Originally Published on CalMatters and was reissued under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Noderivatives License.