Assemblyman Nick Schultz’s (D-Burbank) on Assembly floor. (Photo: assembly.ca.gov)
Forced into Decency: California Democrats’ Political Pivot on Sex Trafficking 16-17 Year Olds
Children are not lobbying for the legal right to prostitute themselves, so who is?
By Katy Grimes, May 16, 2025 8:34 am
In perhaps one of the most disgusting displays of gruesome politics, California Democrats recently blocked a bill to make purchasing sex from 16-17-year-olds a felony, the Globe reported in “California Democrats Reach New Lows Supporting Sex Trafficking, Reparations, Welfare Fraud, Trans in Prison.” Assemblywoman Maggie Krell (D-Sacramento) and Senator Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) authored AB 379 to make solicitation of sex from anyone under 18 a felony.
Currently there is a gap between age 14 and age 18 because of Sen. Scott Wiener’s bill 2020 bill, SB 1045, that allows a 24 year old to have sex with a 14 year old and escape a felony conviction and the requirement to be a registered sex offender.
Children are not lobbying for the legal right to prostitute themselves. But some groups must be seeking legal access to them. Assemblywoman Krell and Senator Grove merely want what is right for children and moral – to make purchasing sex from anyone under 18 a felony.
But Democrats would not have it.
Democrats hijacked Krell’s bill, removed the provision for the age cap for soliciting older minors, took her name off of the bill and replaced it with the Assembly Public Safety Chairman Nick Schultz’s (D-Burbank).
However, after a lot of foolish missteps and bad press, Democrats capitulated, as they did last year with Senator Shannon Grove’s SB 14, to make child sex trafficking a felony once again in the state – and also after they killed her bill in committee. They were lambasted across the state for being so heinous, so out of touch, and so supportive of criminals.
It wasn’t shame that drove the decision – Democrats have shown time and time again that they are incapable of feeling shame. Public outcry and constant pressure from Assembly Republicans forced Democrat leaders to announce that their course change on AB 379 to restore automatic felony charges for adults who solicit sex from 16- and 17-year-olds.
Assembly Public Safety Chairman Nick Schultz (D-Burbank), who hijacked Krell’s bill, removing her name and gutting it of the felony language, insisted on the Assembly floor Thursday that “the process worked.”
“The process” did not work. What worked was publicly exposing Democrats’ depraved support for sex with minor teens.
They flipped not out of shame; instead it was a calculated political pivot. Politics drove the decision to pass the bill. While bad politics also provides media, this was really bad politics. Democrats did not want to be labeled as supporting the sex trade of minors.
AB 379 to make solicitation of sex from anyone under 18 a felony was passed in the Assembly Thursday unanimously. Notably, Assemblywoman Mia Bonta (D-Oakland) abstained.
The bill now heads to the State Senate where it’s expected to be heard in June.
Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is pretending that he is a centrist these days as he longingly dreams of a 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue address, but signed Wiener’s SB 1045 into law, now claims that he does not support Democrats’ attempt to remove the felony penalty age ceiling in Krell’s bill. So, which law does Gavin support – allowing a 24 year old to have sex with a 14 year old and escape a felony conviction, or charging offenders with a felony for purchasing 16-17-year-olds for sex?
Democrats may want to consider pivoting their political focus to protecting children, not trafficking them.
Let’s call Weiner’s SB1045 for what it really is: The Scott Weiner NAMBLA law…
In the olden days, he’d be called a pervert….and it appears that most of the other current Democrats are, as well…
Appreciated so much Katy Grimes’ fine summary and assessment of the latest shameless legislative Dem saga. The Dem politicians’ dirty tricks and lies only brought them more attention as they were fully exposed in their intentions; which clearly showed they wanted to procure minor children for paid sex for their “special interest” constituencies and perhaps also for themselves.
Just look at that final sea of green votes above! It’s pretty amazing and clearly demonstrates that Dem politicians aren’t one bit interested in doing what’s right but they are interested in doing what’s politically expedient. We can only conclude that fear of losing power after the HUGE STINK that was made by the public and the media was the motivator.
This shows us, of course, that a HUGE RIGHTEOUS STINK can still work to produce the proper outcome. But please, let’s never forget what happened in the meantime, including Dems’ gutting of the original bill and and then jaw-droppingly running ads that accused legislative Repubs of the twisted and depraved thinking for which virtually all legislative Dems themselves are responsible. A shocking but memorably worthwhile and educational exposure of the bottom-feeding CA super-majority Dem legislature.
P.S. You gotta love this from Katy Grimes:
“Children are not lobbying for the legal right to prostitute themselves, so who is?”
“Forced into Decency” would be a great book title.
A book that catalogs all of the deceit this supermajority uses to convince the low information voter that they are the trusted party who care for the children, disabled and working poor!
Politics is a very dirty business!
So Democrat Assemblyman Nick Schultz hijacked Assemblywoman Maggie Krell’s bill, removed her name, gutted it of the felony language, and then insisted on the Assembly floor that the process worked? As Katy Grimes pointed out, the process only worked to expose how Democrats like him seem to have a depraved support for sex with minor teens?
Who is this Democrat Assemblyman Nick Schultz? He’s a lawyer with questionable ethics and career Democrat who won the general election against Republican Tony Rodriguez for the 44th Assembly District in November 2024. On December 27, 2024, creepy Democrat California State Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas appointed Schultz to serve as Chair of the Assembly’s Committee on Public Safety.
On March 11, 2025, Schultz named musician Lindsay Imber, a transgender woman, as 2025 Woman of the Year for Assembly District 44. Hmmm, typical of a Democrat who doesn’t seem to know what a real woman is?
Any Caucasian man who is in the Democrat party has to be completely corrupt to the core?
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Schultz_(politician))
These Democrats are very sick people, as is, anyone who votes for them.
“I know nothing.”