State Lawmakers Face Firestorm After This Bizarre Decision on Child Sex Trafficking
Jeff Charles
California lawmakers have voted down a measure that would make it a felony to buy 16 and 17-year-olds for sex.
BREAKING - California Democrats have once again voted to block a Republican-backed bill that would make sex trafficking of minors a felony offense.
— Right Angle News Network (@Rightanglenews) April 29, 2025
Data from 2018 revealed that about 26.9 percent of California sex trafficking victims were minors.
During an interview, Assemblyman Nick Schultz, the lawmaker who torpedoed the measure, said, “I’m not okay with any child anywhere being exploited. But the solution that we craft, the solution that we pass, needs to make sense. It needs to be equitable. It needs to be comprehensive.”
So, this raises a few questions. What is it about making it a felony to sex traffic minors that doesn’t “make sense” or is not “equitable?” None of these people can seem to come up with a valid reason for removing that provision.
What is bizarre about this is that the lawmakers who desperately want to keep this crime at the misdemeanor level have not given any compelling reasons for doing so. What harm could possibly come from creating harsher punishments for those who victimize children?
This especially odd considering that Democrats claim to be about protecting children (unless they are in the womb, of course). Yet, when given a piece of proposed legislation that would be a layup for most folks, they decide not to pass it.