James Myers of OAN
May 30, 2024 (Thursday) 9:10 a.m.
A California senator who has fought to lengthen prison sentences for pedophiles has blasted progressive lawmakers in his own party for trying to reduce sentences, declaring he’s “not with us anymore.”
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Democratic Sen. Susan Eggman delivered a heated speech on the Senate floor last Thursday as lawmakers debated whether it is a felony in California to purchase or solicit a minor for commercial sex acts.
“As a progressive and proud member of this organization for the past 12 years, I want to say it’s over. It’s over protecting those who buy and abuse our children. It’s over,” Eggman, 63, said.
“I don’t want to send more black and brown men to prison,” she continued. “I don’t want more people in prison, but I don’t want people buying girls. I don’t want people buying little girls anymore. I’m tired of being told it’s OK to do that, that we have to protect men who do that.”
Currently, under California law, soliciting or purchasing sex from a child is a misdemeanor punishable by two days to one year in prison and a $10,000 fine.
The bill being debated in the Senate, SB 1414, would make it a felony punishable by two to four years in prison, a $25,000 fine and registration as a sex offender.
But a group of Democrats, led by state Sen. Scott Wiener, softened the bill’s penalties in the Senate Public Safety Committee.
Wiener’s opponents argued the law would send too many people to prison after legal groups warned it would have unintended consequences.
“I’m not arguing that we should open up our prison gates and pack people in, but I am arguing that we have a moral responsibility to say, ‘enough is enough,'” Eggman said last week as the issue returned to the Senate.
“We have made enough concessions in this area. We must get back to the center or we will all look like fools and laughing stock.”
“A lot of these kids could be foundless. They’re poor kids. They’re kids of color, but their lives are dictated by what other people put in their hands at a young age, and they shouldn’t have to live their lives as if the California Democrat is saying, ‘That’s OK,'” she continued.
“That’s not OK. I don’t do that anymore, and I hope you don’t either. We have to be able to draw the line.”
The bill, sponsored by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.), passed unanimously, 36-0, and now heads to the state Assembly.
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