Members of the California State Senate have proposed a bill, SB 14, that would raise penalties on people

who solicit minors for prostitution.

Right now, soliciting a minor for prostitution

is a misdemeanor punishable by a mandatory minimum punishment

of two days in county jail, which seemed a little light

to legislators who have proposed raising the offense to a felony,

punishable by up to four years in state prison. Some would say that that sentence is still too light.

But not LGBT-E P activists who instead are protesting

the anti-child prostitution bill and calling it an attack on the LGBT community.

We believe that SB 14-14 takes an overly punitive approach

that fails to address the root causes of these issues

and will not effectively stop sexual violence.

We are particularly concerned that the harsher penalties proposed in this bill will disproportionately

impact marginalized communities, especially members of the LGBTQ community who already suffer from

systematic biases within the criminal justice system, particularly when it

comes to sexually based offenses. Studies have shown that LGBTQ people, particularly gay and transgender individuals,

are more likely to be charged with sex offenses compared to their heterosexual counterparts.

For instance, LGBTQ individuals are nine times more likely to be charged with sodomy.

Measures like SP14 lead to higher rates of incarceration, longer sentences, and increased

difficulties in finding housing and employment.

Today, EBC must strongly oppose Senate Bill 14, 14,

for the reasons I will state,

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