Making sense
There is no such thing as a child prostitute in the state of California!
I am thrilled to hear that Gov. Jerry Brown declared enough is enough and decriminalized prostitution and loitering with intent to commit prostitution for minors by signing Senate Bill 1322 into law.
This is truly a momentous day for the victims and survivors of this horrific crime, who fall prey to manipulative monsters who sell them for sex night after night. Instead of arresting and stigmatizing young child sex trafficking victims, law enforcement will now play a critical role in helping these boys and girls get the support and treatment they need to escape life on the streets.
Children don’t need to be arrested in order for us to provide them with the services they need to heal. Our approach in Los Angeles County is working. In the past two years, we have rescued 131 girls, most of whom have been placed in group homes, foster care or back with their families.
Thanks to the efforts of Gov. Brown, Sen. Holly Mitchell, law enforcement, our advocacy groups and local community organizations, we can now offer compassion, help and support to our most vulnerable children, and refocus our efforts to bring justice to those who buy, sell and exploit them.
Don Knabe
LA County Supervisor
Fourth District
Car trouble?
I was out in front of my house a few weeks ago when two police officers came over to me and, without asking me if I was the person of interest, started screaming at me about the rights and wrongs of parking in front of my house. I was so startled that I just stood there and kept saying, “I think you have the wrong house.” But both of them were yelling at me, saying they had the right house and I had better not interfere when people park in front of my house.
My reason for mentioning this incident is to better understand what is happening with our men in blue and the sick killers that are scattered in our country at this time. The police definitely had the wrong house because I never argue with anyone who illegally parks in front of my house on a regular basis. I do what the police department told me to do. I call in the day the offender parks in front of my house and report it so the police can identify and ticket that offender when necessary. One of my neighbors does argue with the people who park for days at a time, but I never have.
If I had become angry and told the two police officers to get lost, would they have cuffed or hit me? If I were a really bad nut, would I have hit them or try and injure them in some way? This incident could have resulted in one of us getting really badly hurt and, at 94 years of age, it would have been me. I am a lover, not a fighter.
I’m relating this story to better understand what can, and does, happen in America now. There is no respect for our men in blue, and some of our men in blue shouldn’t be out there.
That was a dreadful experience for me, and I reported both police officers to the chief of police. If I had been a man, would they have treated me so badly? If I had been a man, would I have argued with them? Sometimes asking questions would be the best option.
I might add: I park in my garage— the thing we built to park our car in when not using it.
Vivian C. Nelson
Long Beach
