Apparently, a bill that would create a much stiffer penalty for child sex trafficking is being challenged by LGBTQ activists who claim the bill would unduly target and harm that community. The bill is being proposed in California
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Excerpt from redstate.com
One would think that legislation aimed at protecting children from being sex trafficked would be a no-brainer. Unfortunately, this is not the case for some in California who opposed a law that would increase penalties for those who solicit minors for sex.
Currently, this offense is classified as a misdemeanor that carries a maximum sentence of up to one year in jail or a minimum of two days with a $10,000 fine. The new law would upgrade the offense to a felony that would impose a sentence of up to four years in prison with a $25,000 fine.
At a hearing, several LGBTQ activists voiced their opposition to the measure, arguing that it would somehow target members of the LGBTQ community and racial minorities.
The bipartisan measure, SB1414, would make it a felony offense for an adult to solicit or pay for sex with a minor. Amendments to the measure require that those accused of soliciting sex with minors aged 16 or 17 can only be charged with the increased penalty if the minor has been a victim of sex trafficking.
Several activists in attendance at the hearing asked committee members to oppose the bill due to the way it allegedly harms “marginalized communities.”
“I’d like to acknowledge the survivors [of sex trafficking] here today and name that we all have the shared goal of protecting children from harm,” Isabella Borgeson from the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights said. “We are concerned that the harsher penalties contained in this bill will disproportionately impact marginalized communities, particularly Black and brown individuals who already bear the brunt of systemic biases within our criminal justice system.”
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