California senators recently advanced a bill that would increase penalties for people convicted of buying children for sexual purposes. As it stands today, this crime is classified as a misdemeanor carrying a sentence of up to one year in prison.
If passed, the bill would upgrade the crime to a felony that could result in up to four years in prison. But it was recently revealed that other lawmakers in the Senate Public Safety committee refused to advance the measure to the floor unless they added an amendment that would exclude those who purchase 16 and 17-year-olds.
In a post on X, State Sen. Shannon Grove, who introduced the bill, criticized the committee for forcing her to accept “amendment’s I didn’t agree with” and said they “watered down my bill to allow a fine or minimum county jail time.”
Today, the Senate Public Safety Committee refused to pass my bill to send child sex buyers to prison.
— Senator Shannon Grove (@ShannonGroveCA) April 16, 2024
Instead of making the buying of kids a felony with prison time, the committee forced me to take amendments I didn’t agree with and watered down my bill to allow a fine or…
— Senator Shannon Grove (@ShannonGroveCA) April 16, 2024
Grove posted a video on X in which she stood with survivors of sex trafficking, criticizing the effort to protect criminals who buy children over the age of 15 for sexual purposes.
.@ShannonGroveCA stood w/ human trafficking survivors after public safety cmte amended #SB1414 (bill to make buying a child for sex a felony).
— Daniela Pardo (@danielapardotv) April 16, 2024
The amendments, which she rejected, would make it so that the law doesn't apply to those who buy a 16 or 17yo for sex. Only 15 & under. pic.twitter.com/0jaNe2DVjT
The original proposal would have levied harsher punishments on those who buy children from sex traffickers.
While this is undoubtedly a positive step, it raises an important question: Why was this crime classified as something as minor as a misdemeanor in the first place?
Under California law, purchasing or soliciting a child for sex is a misdemeanor carrying a maximum penalty of up to a year in jail, or a minimum of two days in jail, and a $10,000 fine. Republican State Sen. Shannon Grove is trying to change that with SB 1414, which would classify the crime as a felony, carrying a maximum penalty of up to four years in prison and a $25,000 fine.
“A lot of the survivors of lived experience have said you’ve gotta go after the buyer, it’s just a misdemeanor and I said there is no way,” Grove told KCRA 3. “I thought they were mistaken.”
The bill would also remove the requirement in state law that those convicted of soliciting a minor knew or should have known that person was a minor. Grove is also proposing to require those buyers to register as sex offenders for ten years.
Similar proposals have been failing at the state capitol since 2014, according to an analysis of the legislation. The bill will have its first hearing in the Senate Public Safety Committee on Tuesday.
The obvious question for decent people who detest those who sexually abuse children is: Why?
What possible reason could any lawmaker have for ensuring that those who purchase children only receive the most minimum level of punishment? There does not seem to be any real rhyme or reason to this.
Yes, those who sell and traffic children should be harshly punished. But those who buy the children are every bit as guilty of perpetuating this demonic practice. While the law will probably still pass, the amendment essentially posits that children over the age of 15 are not worthy of the same levels of protection. But, at the end of the day, what else would we expect from California’s government?
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