A California State Senate committee controlled by Democrats has rejected a proposal aimed at preventing registered sex offenders from seeking public office, sparking backlash against the Committee’s chairman, Democrat State Senator Scott Wiener.
| PULSE POINTS |
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: A California State Senate committee has blocked a bill that would have prevented registered sex offenders from running for public office. 📺 DETAIL: On Tuesday, California’s State Senate’s Elections Committee rejected a proposal (AB 2753) by vote of 2-1-2. The proposal would have banned registered sex offenders and human traffickers from running for public office in California. Specifically, Republican State Senator Steven Choi and Democrat San Diego State Senator Sabrina Cervantes backed the proposal, while Democrat San Francisco State Senator Scott Wiener voted against it. The remaining two Democrats abstained. The Committee is chaired by Wiener (D-CA) and requires a majority vote to approve proposals. The bill was introduced after a registered sex offender tried to run for Fresno City Council, California. At present, California law disqualifies candidates convicted of various felonies, such as bribery, extortion, perjury, embezzlement, and conspiracy to commit said felonies, but not sex offenses. The State Assembly had unanimously approved the measure before it was blocked by the Committee. “This is potentially a very dangerous road we’re going down to say that ‘minor crimes’ are going to ban you for life for running for office,” said Wiener in an interview with ABC10, justifying his position. 💬 KEY QUOTE: “There are a lot of people who go in the sex offender registry for lower-level offenses, who I don’t know that everyone would believe they should be banned from running for office if they want to,” said State Sen. Scott Wiener. 🎯 IMPACT: Wiener is likely to succeed Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), former Speaker of the House, in Congress. As a result of the proposal being blocked, those convicted of sex offenses and human trafficking will still be allowed to run for public office in California. 📺 FLASHBACK: Back in June, it was reported that Stacie Marie Laughton, born Barry Charles Laughton Jr., a former New Hampshire state legislator and the first open transgender elected to a United States state legislature, was sentenced to 33 years in prison for child exploitation. |
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