California: Jonestown
again
The California legislature is several years into a running battle over the sex trafficking of children, and today’s Assembly floor session is promising to be…interesting. Let’s start with this remarkable headline from the Los Angeles Times — which they changed on the newspaper’s website, but the original phrasing remains in place on I-still-call-it-Twitter:
You get that? If you think adults shouldn’t buy minors from pimps for sex, you’re breaking from progressives, who have concerns about imposing that prohibition. Today, after a Democratic committee chair pushed a bill on this question to the next legislative session, saying he needed time to conduct fact-finding and find an “equitable” version of a prohibition against buying children for sex, Republicans will try to force that prohibition back into the bill on the floor.
The interesting development here is that Maggy Krell, the author and leading legislative advocate of the proposed new law making it a felony to buy minors for sex, is a Democrat. Her background is quite unusual for someone who’s working to protect children: While she’s a former sex crimes prosecutor, she’s also a former chief counsel for Planned Parenthood of California. So even California leftists seem to be tiring of California leftists and the madness of their culture war dogma.
Well into the business day, the Assembly session isn’t starting — and journalists in the capitol are hearing that the delay is being caused by Democratic leaders trying to find a way to avoid the discussion about the trafficking of minors:
It’s a real conundrum for California Democratic legislative leaders, as they face the disturbing possibility that their ideological opponents will make it a serious crime to buy children for sex. What a problem, right?
I’ve been writing about California’s battles over childhood sex trafficking for years. For example, in a discussion of the amended bill from last year that forms the background for the current bill:
What Passes for a Controversial Measure
California Senator Shannon Grove, a Republican, has introduced legislation that would make it a felony for an adult to solicit a child for sex. Yes, you read that sentence correctly. Only in California do we get news headlines like this:
More as the legislative session eventually lurches to a start.
UPDATED:
The speaker is demanding that Republicans watch their decorum.
I'm watching the session here:
https://www.assembly.ca.gov/media-live-event/9330?format=video
Republicans have offered a motion to force consideration of the prohibition. Democrats have offered amendments to the bill that have not been described, and the speaker is opening a vote on the Democratic amendment. Annnnd the Democratic maneuver has worked: The bill is amended, and the Republican motion has died. Eventually we'll see what amendments the Democrats brought to the floor.
Chris, I feel like at some point in the near future someone's going to be telling you to take all of your things and leave, and make *double-sure* to tell your wife not to look back as you cross the State line into AZ or NV.