John --

Fourteen months ago, I warned that Senate Bill 357 — the law that decriminalized loitering with intent to engage in prostitution — would lead to exactly what we’re seeing today.

Now, girls as young as 11 years old are being trafficked along a 50-block stretch of Figueroa Street in Los Angeles, and law enforcement can’t stop it.

Thanks to State Senator Scott Wiener’s SB 357, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom, police officers can no longer intervene when they see a group of young girls in lingerie being forced onto the streets. The law tied their hands — literally.

Before SB 357, officers could detain suspected traffickers and rescue minors. Now, they have to somehow prove a girl is underage before stepping in — nearly impossible with wigs, fake eyelashes, and fear silencing these victims.

A trafficker summed it up best: “We run Figueroa now.”

Let that sink in. The predators are running the streets — not the police.

A New York Times investigation laid it bare: girls barely out of elementary school, shivering in G-strings, being forced to “make quota” for their traffickers. Many are foster kids lured in through Instagram. These children are being beaten, drugged, and sold while Sacramento politicians look the other way.

SB 357 was sold as “reform.” In reality, it’s one of the most shameful and dangerous laws ever passed in California. It has created open-air markets for child trafficking — just miles from schools, churches, and homes.

It’s time to repeal SB 357 immediately and restore law enforcement’s ability to protect these girls. No political talking point or “social justice” excuse can justify this level of moral failure.

We should be protecting children — not their abusers.

I’m calling on every lawmaker, every parent, and every Californian with a conscience: demand the repeal of SB 357 now.

Because every day we wait, another child is sold.

San Diego County District 5 Supervisor Jim Desmond
https://www.supervisorjimdesmond.com/