Home Fresh Ink CA Gov. Brown signs law decriminalizing underage prostitution CA Gov. Brown signs law decriminalizing underage prostitution OneNewsNow.com" rel="author">Michael F. Haverluck, OneNewsNow.com October 3, 2016 at 11:50 am 47 Fresh Ink Share! Facebook Tweet Google+ Tumblr Pinterest Gov. Jerry Brown (D-Calif.) signed legislation this week that decriminalizes prostitution for minors – a law that seals a major shift in how law enforcement and the justice system handles sex crimes in California. Supporters of the controversial measure agree with its authors, who insist that the real criminals are those employing teens to have sex for their profit. “By prohibiting law enforcement from arresting people under the age of 18 for soliciting or loitering with intent, Senate Bill 1322 effectively shields those young people from criminal penalties,” The Sacramento Bee reports. “Advocates argued that young sex workers should be treated as victims – not criminals.” However, opponents of the bill – including many police departments across the Golden State – have reportedly voiced a major concern that supporters fail to address. “While embracing the idea of treating young sex workers as victims, law enforcement groups warned that removing penalties would remove a crucial tool for detaining young people and keeping them away from their abusers,” The Sacramento Bee’s Jeremy B. White informed. Feeding into flawed reasoning? The same kind of rationale justifying the decriminalization of youth prostitution via SB 1322 drove a number of previous bills addressing human trafficking that recently reached Brown’s desk. “The governor also signed Assembly Bill 1761, which allows human trafficking victims to avoid conviction for nonviolent crimes they committed at the behest of their traffickers, and Senate Bill 823, which allows courts to vacate past convictions for crimes people committed under traffickers’ coercion,” White informed. “Also earning Brown’s signature were measures allowing minor trafficking victims to testify remotely and to receive services provided to witnesses.” In addition, Brown set his pen against legislation geared to help children caught up in prostitution. This was demonstrated through his recent veto of a measure that was designed to establish a number of pilot programs for dealing with trafficked youths. In Brown’s veto message, he justified turning the measure down by insisting that the problem is already being taken care of, explaining away his refusal by saying that another proposal should be evaluated next year – when new budget discussions take place. “[T]here are numerous federal, state and local efforts underway to combat commercial sexual exploitation of children,” Brown contended after his veto. Where’s the logic? Conservative news media is not too confident that Brown and the California legislature have adequately weighed the consequences of the new law focusing on sex trafficking. “I’m not so sure that this is a good idea, … “ Townhall’s Matt Vespa expressed regarding Brown’s signing of SB 1322. “I understand the reasons, but does anyone else think there is a better way to combat child prostitution?” Vespa argues that the controversial bill fails to take into account that virtually every attorney involved in human trafficking lawsuits understands the sensitivity of the issues at hand and will make his or her determinations accordingly. “For any lawyer, wouldn’t any levelheaded prosecuting attorney exhibit some discretion over whether to charge an abused 15-year-old girl with solicitation?” Vespa ventured. “Like most policies coming out of California, it shouldn’t shock us if this move backfires, which will have tragic consequences. We’ll see how this works out, though the notion of decriminalizing this horrific enterprise seems to be done without much foresight.” —- Copyright OneNewsNow.com. Reprinted with permission. CA Gov. Brown signs law decriminalizing underage prostitution[/S]
California is planning on generating revenue by converting its elementary and secondary schools into brothels.
I can see where this could go both ways. One, it would encourage under age victims to come forward without fear of prosecution and Two, it could encourage the formation of under age sex rings. I agree that they shouldn't prosecute the victim, and any under age individual caught up in the sex trade is a victim. I just don't see where this is going to be productive in stopping this despicable practice.
When I first started to read this, my initial thoughts were "WTF?" but I mostly get what he is saying. It's a very poor effort to bring some form or empathy into the robotic system of law enforcement but I can definitely see how this could backfire. All it would take is a pimp to start thinking "So if I employ more under age girls, there will be less risk" and suddenly you get a boom of young girls on the streets. It really doesn't seem like a logical idea to me but at the same time I I can feel his underlying thought of "those poor girls have had enough". I just hope that it doesn't lead to as dark a place as I think it might. ... I also can't believe they would decriminalize prostitution before marijuana... just kind of a mind blower on that one.
Why-oh-why do we continue to allow these idiots to vote in these type of laws in our behalf? This should have gone to the people for a vote and it would have been voted down. Hell, this might increase under aged prostitution! This Brown is a real idiot and a jerk as shown when immediately jump on a plane for a European vacation after signing the new California gun laws into effect. Idiot! EDIT: Also, I point out, that a young person can request from the court at the age of 18 that their juvenile record be sponged clean and as long as it doesn't contain murder or something heinous this is usually done. All this does is makes it easier for young teens to get involved with some really bad individuals.
Laws do not stop criminal behavior, nor will they stop criminals from being criminals. Once again, we see government at work --and it doesn't work. We ought to know by now who the primary human sex traffickers are, and this Hegelian tactic only serves to benefit government. It is the third largest crime (or means to profit depending on your perspective) behind drugs and weapon trafficking. But, by declaring underage teens as victims and not criminals, they are taking a step toward common sense, even if they fail at stopping the problem. Now, if we could only figure out a way to keep government from tearing apart the family unit, taxing the citizenry, making the citizens defenseless, promoting sex trafficking and drugs while offering the "solution", building up the police state, welcoming and harboring illegals, and essentially destroying liberty at every opportunity --we might have a chance to make some progress. I remain skeptical that we can make any progress with government involved, however.
I think it's been shown time and time again that if all prostitution was legalized, licensed, and taxed, the pimps would have to become honest businessmen or find something else to do that was still illegal. Likewise, the people (of all sexes) that wanted to be prostitutes would get into the business, and the ones that didn't would be able to get out. The government would make lots of money, health standards could be implemented and enforced to protect both the workers and the punlic, and the price would drop down to fair market value for services rendered. I was in the sex trade for a while. Back in the day I could sell my body for $400.00 a night. But I had to get out of that because I found I couldn't live off $800.00 a month.
That's how it's done in Nevada. The state basically says "If you play that's ok, but you do it by our state rules." Their rules put safe sex practices into play and regular medical exams are performed on the sex workers, which greatly reduces or eliminates the spread of disease. With prostitution being illegal, well, there are no checks on that stuff. BTW, I think prostitution is still illegal in Clark County (Las Vegas). However, underage prostitution is yet another story. While underage victims are truly victims, law enforcement should have the tools to remove them from the trade until they're old enough to decide for themselves. If law enforcement is looking for the pimps, they can always recommend to the prosecutor to drop charges on the underage participant when they nail the individual and the johns. This will ultimately prove to be harmful, especially if the pimps are under 18 and working under the direction of someone else.
