The progressive frontrunner to win Nancy Pelosi’s California congressional seat has been accused of adding shocking exceptions for pedophiles to a proposed state law that would prevent sex offenders from seeking political office.
Critics grilled state Sen. Scott Wiener at a hearing on Tuesday on the new exemptions added to a California bill, AB 2691, which would block offenders convicted of felony sexual assault or human trafficking from elected office.
The carveouts exclude from the definition of sexual assault involving a minor under 18 the acts of sodomy, oral copulation and sexual penetration, as well as individuals older than 21 engaging in sex acts with people younger than 16 who are automatically hit with felony charges.
“Our honest reaction was that it could not be real. We assume we’ve misread it. We sat in our office and tried to imagine how anyone could stand up and defend it,” said Greg Burt, vice president of the California Family Council, at the hearing.
“So I’m here today generally hoping someone will tell us why crimes against children are being carved out of this bill.”
The bill is one of two introduced by lawmakers this year to try to ban sex offenders from office. The efforts came in response to outcry over a Fresno child sex offender, Rene Campost, who tried to run for city council, as well as revelations that former Rep. Eric Swalwell, once a leading candidate for governor, was accused of sexual misconduct.
Conservative groups accused Wiener — who has recently been at the center of viral videos showing him being harassed by pro-Palestinian activists — for muddying efforts to block sex offenders from seeking office.
David Bolog, who represents the Serving Family Values Alliance, said the exemptions forced his organization to oppose the bill.
“It is now in contradiction with what it seems to be the intent of the author. I’m baffled with this current legislation,” he said. “I don’t know how anybody thinks these exceptions, these exemptions, would be acceptable with its prior intentions,” he said.
Last week, as AB 2691 sat with the state senate’s elections committee, the bill was amended so that certain criminal statutes would not be classified as “sexual assault.” Specifically, “sexual assault” as defined in the bill would not include violations of three state penal codes that cover sodomy, oral sex and sexual penetration with a minor, respectively. The codes also state that any person over the age of 21 who commits the act with someone under 16 is guilty of a felony.
Typically, committee chairs request changes to bills under their committee’s supervision, and Wiener chairs the state senate’s elections committee. Wiener’s office said his committee worked with the author on thee changes.
On Tuesday, Wiener expressed opposition to another bill, AB 2753, that would block registered sex offenders seeking from office. That bill failed to pass, though the measure will be reconsidered.
The state senator, who is gay and a strong advocate of LGBTQ rights, said it is extremely hard to get removed from the state’s sex offender registry and that it unfairly targets gay men.
“It’s hard to overstate how extreme and broken the California sex offender registry was,” Wiener said, referring to the arrest of Bayard Rustin, a gay civil rights leader who was arrested in California.
“Whether you were a sexually violent predator or whether you were a gay guy who had sex in a park or in a car and got arrested, like for example Bayard Rustin did…you were on for life.”
The exceptions added to AB 2691 were made to account for young adults who were only recently minors from being unfairly punished, Wiener’s office told The California Post. He claimed the original version “could have swept in an 18 year old who had sex with a 17 year old partner,” for example, even if such cases are typically treated as misdemeanors.
“There were no felonies in any of the amendments removed out, no felonies,” Wiener insisted at Tuesday’s hearing.
