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In a stunning reversal, California Democrats have dropped their opposition to a key child trafficking bill following overwhelming public outrage — and Reform California Chairman and State Assemblyman Carl DeMaio is declaring it a major victory in the fight to protect children from sex predators.
Just days ago, California Assembly Democrats voted to gut AB 379, a common-sense reform that would make it a felony to purchase 16 and 17-year-old minors for sex. The decision sparked an intense backlash from voters, advocacy groups, and officials across the state.
Faced with a tidal wave of public pressure, Democrat Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas was forced to backtrack and announced that Democrats would reverse course and allow the bill to move forward as originally intended — with the felony provision for child sex trafficking reinstated.
“Last week, California Democrats outrageously opposed a common-sense reform to make purchasing 16 and 17 year-old minors a felony, and in the few days that followed, they were crushed by an overwhelming public backlash.” explained Assemblyman Carl DeMaio, one of the loudest voices demanding accountability after last week’s vote.
DeMaio, fellow Assembly Republicans, and various groups and officials across the state seized on the opportunity to lead on a common-sense public safety issue — and took Assembly Democrats to task in the media and court of public opinion.
This sent Assembly Democrats into a panic, and the California Democratic Party even began to run ads falsely accusing Assembly Republicans of supporting child sex trafficking as cover. This prompted even more backlash, with DeMaio and the California Republican Party outspending Democrats on counter ads.
Ultimately, the pressure was too much and Speaker Rivas caved and pledged to bring back AB 379. This will now mean that purchasing minors for sex — including 16 and 17 year-olds — can be prosecuted as a felony in California, closing a dangerous loophole that has long been exploited by traffickers.
“Thanks to thousands of outraged Californians who stood up and made their voices heard, we forced them to do the right thing,” DeMaio continued.
DeMaio says that this win sets up a model for Republicans to win on public safety issues in California — despite their superminority status. He and Reform California are now preparing to go after SB 145, a 2020 law passed by Democrats that allows an adult to molest a child as young as 14 and potentially avoid mandatory inclusion on the sex offender registry.
“SB 145 is an offensive and dangerous law that must be repealed,” DeMaio says. “The progress we’ve made with AB 379 proves that public pressure works — and we’re going to use that same pressure to force a vote to overturn SB 145 in the coming weeks.”
DeMaio says the Democratic reversal on AB 379 sends a clear message: the public is watching — and they’re fed up.
“California Democrats thought they could kill this bill quietly and get away with it,” DeMaio says. “But thanks to the courage of everyday Californians, they didn’t. This is what happens when we fight back.”
