California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into effect SB-145, an amendment to existing state law that gives judges discretion regarding “whether an adult convicted of having vaginal sexual intercourse with a minor should register as a sex offender in cases in which the minor is 14 years or older and the adult is not more than 10 years older than the minor” (Willon, 2020). The bill has been met with controversy surrounding the widespread, yet false, belief that the amendment legalizes pedophilia. Many others have made the claim that the bill is a political tool serving to drive a wedge between Democrat and Republican voters.
Prior to the enactment of SB-145, California law mandated that adults convicted of oral or anal sex with a minor be automatically added to the state’s sex offender registry. SB-145 eliminates such automation and allows judges discretion in deciding such matters. A major facet of the amendment to state law prior to SB-145 regards sexual relationships between people close in age. For instance:
The intent of SB 145…is to address cases in which two people close in age — an 18-year-old and 17-year-old dating in high school, for example — are in a sexual relationship. The 18-year-old can still be convicted of a sex offense but should not automatically be registered as a sex offender, a lifelong designation that is an impediment to finding employment, a place to live and other necessities of life.”
Phil Willon, Staff Writer of Los Angeles Times
SB-145 is also said to combat and end discrimination against members of the LGBTQ community from being convicted at a higher rate for similar sex crimes committed by heterosexual individuals. The bill addresses the disparity in California’s anti-sodomy laws, which were constructed to criminalize sex between homosexual men. As for claims that SB-145 legalizes pedophilia, such comes from the portion of the bill that allows the maximum ten (10) year age gap between the adult and the minor in the sexual relationship. Many political figures have spoken out against SB-145, one of which is Democratic Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez of San Diego, who declared,
I cannot, in my mind, as a mother, understand how sex between a 24-year-old and a 14-year-old could ever be consensual, how it could ever not be a registerable offense. I challenge everybody: Give me a situation where a 24-year-old had sex with a 14-year-old, any kind of sex, and it wasn’t predatory.
Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez during debate on the bill on the Assembly floor, Aug. 31, 2020
Despite the criticism and backlash, advocates of the bill, including Gov. Newsom, assert its critical importance in equalizing the treatment of heterosexual and LGBTQ individuals in regards to sex crimes.
CIMA Law Group Blog 