WTF? Cali Bill Lowers Penalties For Adults Who Have Oral Or Anal Sex With A ‘Willing Minor’ As Young As 14

Proponents of the bill say that this is all about equality and that LGBTQ+ adults are treated the same way as straight adults.

SB-145 was passed by the California Assembly and the state Senate and is now headed to the desk of Governor Gavin Newsom.

The bill which was put forward by California State Senator Scott Wiener–I swear I’m not making that up–states, “This bill would exempt from mandatory registration under the act a person convicted of certain offenses involving minors if the person is not more than 10 years older than the minor and if that offense is the only one requiring the person to register.”

This means that a 24-year old engaging in oral or anal sex with a 14-year old would not be automatically put on the sex offender registry. Currently, the law in California allows a judge to decide depending on the facts of the case if an adult engaging in vaginal sex with a minor up to 10 years younger is placed on the sex offender registry.

Under current law, while it is illegal for an adult to have consensual sex with a teenager between 14 and 17 years old, who cannot legally give consent, vaginal intercourse between the two does not require the offender to be listed on the state’s sex offender registry, as long as the offender is within 10 years of age of the minor. Instead, the judge has the discretion to decide, based on the facts of the case, whether the sex offender registration is warranted.

Other forms of intercourse such as oral and anal intercourse require sex offender registration.

State Senator Scott Wiener, who presented the bill, said the existing law “disproportionately targets LGBT young people for mandatory sex offender registration since LGBT people usually cannot engage in vaginal intercourse.”

Weiner said that the law that punished oral and anal sex between adults and minors with automatic inclusion on the sex-offender registry was “blatant discrimination against young LGBT people engaged in consensual activity.”

This raises a question…

How can a “minor” give “consent”???

A minor cannot give consent. This is why we have statutory rape laws.

Incidentally, the age of consent in California is 18, though there are provisions for teens who are close in age.

I have a solution…how about we get harsh with straight people who are engaging in sex with minors? It’s radical, I know, but hear me out…

If this is all about discrimination, then let’s not discriminate! Why not put all adults who have sex with a minor up to 10 years younger on the sex offender registry?

Apparently I’m not the only one who came up with this innovative solution.

Critics of the bill argue that rather than amending existing law to include vaginal intercourse with a minor as an act that requires mandatory sex offender registration, the bill aims to make all criminal sex acts with a minor over 14 equal by providing offenders with an opportunity to evade mandatory registration.

“Any sex is sex,” argued Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez. “I don’t care who it is between or what sex act it is. That being said, I cannot in my mind as a mother understand how sex between a 24-year-old and a 14-year-old could ever be consensual.”
Source: Fox 13

State Senator Weiner is gay and Jewish and says that he’s faced quite a bit of backlash including death threats.

Weiner is doubling down and claiming that there is a “vast, right-wing conspiracy” calling him a pedophile for simply pushing to remove penalties for adults committing particular sex acts with minors who cannot legally give consent. 

He linked to an Associated Press “fact-check” article.

#SB145 ends discrimination against #LGBTQ young people on CA’s sex offender registry. It treats LGBTQ people exactly how straight ppl are now treated.

The bill is the subject of a massive misinformation campaign by MAGA/QAnon.

Here are the facts per AP: https://t.co/SSdLH0rS3V

— Senator Scott Wiener (@Scott_Wiener) September 2, 2020

Here’s a bit of the “fact check”:

Currently in California, voluntary sex between a teenager age 14 to 17 and an adult within 10 years of their age is treated differently depending on the sex act. In cases of vaginal sex, the law allows a judge to decide whether or not the adult should have to register as a sex offender. In cases of anal and oral sex, the adult must register as a sex offender.

SB 145 would expand the law, giving judges discretion in cases of voluntary anal and oral sex between a teenager age 14 and 17 and an adult no more than 10 years older.

Contrary to false posts on social media, the bill would not apply when a minor is under the age of 14, when the age gap is larger than 10 years, or when either party says the sex was not consensual.

Source: Associated Press

So, they’re saying that it doesn’t legalize pedophilia, but it does allow adults 10 years older to not be listed as sex offenders if they engage in sex with a minor–who cannot give consent. 

It would have been more honest to put forward a bill to lower the age of consent to 14, but they know that wouldn’t fly with voters, so they’re skirting around it this way.

The continued sexualization of children is absolutely disgusting and needs to end.