California progressives want to block new bill that would recriminalize street prostitution.
SB 1219, authored by state Republican Sen. Kelly Sayalt, would re-enact a provision previously removed from the California Penal Code prohibiting loitering in public places.
San Francisco Democrat Scott Wiener previously authored the bill, known as SB 357, or the Safe Streets for All Act. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the law in 2022, but critics say it facilitates brazen prostitution and sex trafficking on city streets in places like Oakland, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego. are doing.
After Tuesday’s public safety hearing on SB 1219, Sejjárt told FOX News Digital that he introduced the bill “to provide resources to victims of human trafficking.”
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“They need our help to get out of dangerous situations, and we should use every means at our disposal to protect them,” Sejjarto said. “Prostitution is illegal in California. It’s bad public policy to ignore victims in order to keep criminals out of trouble. It’s unfortunate that the bill didn’t even get a vote in committee.”
Meanwhile, Weiner said the purpose of SB 357 is to prevent police officers from profiling loiterers based on their physical appearance.
“This is literally one of the more egregious types of criminal law that applies when an officer subjectively believes that someone is simply standing there wearing a certain outfit, a certain hairstyle, a certain make-up. “If someone is found engaging in sex work, they can be arrested and I think such crimes are disgusting,” he said.
In addition to creating penalties for loitering, SB 1219 would also penalize motorists who attempt to solicit prostitutes for sex.
Los Angeles Police Department Officials who previously spoke to FOX News Digital said the current law is “definitely” handcuffed from cracking down on prostitution. Police say the reforms will only allow suspects to be arrested if they admit to prostitution, which they say is rare.
Police say, for example, Los Angeles’ Figueroa Street, also known as “The Blade,” is inundated with prostitutes and pimps. Photos widely circulated on social media show young women wearing thongs and fishnet stockings, standing with their breasts exposed and twerking on street corners in broad daylight.
At Tuesday’s hearing, several proponents of recriminalizing loitering argued that without reinstating the penalties, women will remain particularly vulnerable to sex trafficking.
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“SB 357 had many unintended consequences,” said Opal Singleton, president of the anti-human trafficking organization Million Kids. “One of them is the significant increase in the amount of human trafficking activity taking place in California. This is a serious public safety issue and we need to address it.”
Singleton said many city leaders and mayors are concerned about how pimps, gangs and cartels “bring in large numbers of girls from all over America to perform commercial sexual services in our communities.” He said that he is sharing the same information.
Several law enforcement representatives support SB 1219, including the California Police Association, Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, and San Francisco Police Officers Association.
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A “No Prostitution Zone” sign hangs in a California window. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Meanwhile, several social justice groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, oppose the bill. Becca Kramer Mowder, a spokeswoman for the group, said Tuesday that SB 357 is not the reason for the increase in street prostitution in the state. Instead, she said rising housing costs and the end of COVID-19 aid are driving people into prostitution.
“Sex workers are often parents who work to support their children, and by addressing the housing crisis and building stronger social safety nets, rates of subsistence sex work could be significantly reduced. “Deaf,” said Kramer Mowder. “Arresting sex workers for loitering doesn’t help anyone. It only serves to hide people from view, and it protects all sex workers, including trafficked sex workers, from violence and violence. It just makes them more vulnerable to abuse.”
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Fatima Malika Shabazz, a transgender LGBTQ+ activist with Decrim Sex Work California, said SB 1219 “kills people” and “puts them at risk.”
The California Public Defenders Association and the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office also oppose the bill.
However, two other bills to repeal SB 357 were also introduced in the California House of Representatives, citing law enforcement reports reporting an increase in illegal activity surrounding prostitution rings. Upon passing the bill, Newsom said his administration “must be cautious in its implementation.”
“My administration will monitor crime and prosecution trends for potential unintended consequences and will act to mitigate such impacts,” he said at the time.
FOX News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report.
