California State Sen. Scott Wiener Introduces Bill to Decriminalize Men Having Sex With Boys

LGBT activists have pushed reasonable notions of equality to its limits with obscene perversions. State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco -- the same lawmaker who co-sponsored a bill in 2017 to remove the felony penalty for knowingly exposing another person to HIV -- has introduced a bill, Senate Bill 145 to give judges more flexibility in sentencing gay men who abuse minors.

Under current law -- which Wiener, who is gay, describes as "horrific homophobia" -- a straight 24-year-old male who has sex with a 15-year-old girl can avoid being put on the sex-offender list if the judge feels the situation does not deserve it, but a gay man in the same scenario with a similar-aged boy would not be given the same option.

Wiener's argument is one of evolving social standards. In 2015, the California Supreme Court upheld the long-standing separation of vaginal sex from other forms of sex-based on the misguided idea that if pregnancy occurred, placing the father on the sex-offender list could ruin his chances of providing for his family. The extreme of the scenario would be an 18-year-old man with a 17-year-old girlfriend.

Wiener's bill, however, is not so straightforward. He argues all forms of sex should be treated equally under the law.

The Law Will Protect Exploitation of Minors

Moreover, while there is room for flexibility in a ruling in which a boy turns 18 while his girlfriend is still 17 and her father presses charges, the bill defines the age minimum at 14. Recognizing that minors cannot legally consent to sex, Wiener argues that if a minor age 14 to 17 voluntarily has sex with an adult who is less than 10 years older, the judge should decide based on the individual facts of the case whether the adult should be placed on the sex-offender registry. Data provided by Wiener's office states, "[A]t least 2,400 people on the [CA] sex-offender registry, and potentially hundreds more, have been convicted of non-vaginal sex with a minor age 14 or older."

Thread: This week, I’ve been the target of violent, homophobic, antisemitic attacks from the QAnon/anti-vax right, including death threats (screenshots below). All b/c I’m authoring SB 145 to end discrimination against LGBTQ youth on sex offender registry. https://t.co/Yvq0n0JQlc

— Senator Scott Wiener (@Scott_Wiener) August 6, 2020

I have thick skin, but this has been scary, particularly with the assassination of a federal judge’s son last week. There is so much misinformation about SB 145 & it’s hard to track where it starts. Those who think homophobia & antisemitism are over are not paying attention.

— Senator Scott Wiener (@Scott_Wiener) August 6, 2020

Reopening Gay Bathhouses Will Aid 'Economic And Cultural Recovery,' San Francisco Supervisor Says https://t.co/5seUQdeVrm

— Marc (@Proven_Right) August 11, 2020