California lawmakers have sent a bill to Governor Gavin Newsom that would prohibit law enforcement from being able to arrest prostitutes on loitering charges.
QUICK FACTS:
- Writers of the bill claim that arrests of prostitutes from loitering “disproportionately target transgender, Black and Latino women.”
- Introduced by Democratic Senator Scott Wiener, the bill would also allow those already charged with these convictions to ask the court to dismiss their case.
- While the bill passed both legislative chambers last fall, it has taken nearly nine months to finally make it to Newsom’s desk.
- Among the bill’s supporters are recently recalled District Attorney Chesa Boudin in San Francisco.
CRITICS OF THE BILL:
“The bill seems to be perfect if you want sex trafficking to even increase in California,” said Greg Burt, spokesman for the California Family Council.
BACKGROUND:
- During the past nine months, concerns about crime and homelessness in the state of California have increased, about which Newsom said more needed to be done.
- Critics of the bill claim this move will only do more to hurt the problems the state is facing: “This bill is really going to affect poor neighborhoods – it’s not going to affect neighborhoods where these legislators live,” Burt said.
