While conservative states like Florida have passed legislation to institute the death penalty for criminals guilty of child sexual abuse and child trafficking, it's becoming more and more difficult in blue states to punish pedophiles at all. No other issue so fully reflects the growing rift between the political left and everyone else in America today. If we can't even agree that child sex abusers should face severe punishment, then how can we possibly agree on anything else?
Colorado Democrats have recently struck down House Bill 1092, a bill that would have instituted minimum sentencing for offenders convicted of selling or buying children for the purposes of exploitation. The bill was heard in the House State, Civic, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee, which is also known as the "kill committee." On Thursday, the panel lived up to its nickname, killing the bill on an 8-3 party-line vote. The eight Democrats who voted to stop HB 1092 were State Reps. Andrew Boesenecker, Kyle Brown, Elisabeth Epps, Jennifer Lea Parenti, Naquetta Ricks, Manny Rutinel, Jenny Wilford, and Steven Woodrow.
50 witnesses crowded into the state Capitol hearing room to testify on the bill's passage, with 47 of them in favor of the legislation and only 3 people against. Some of the witnesses were themselves survivors of abuse and trafficking. Republicans who voted in favor of the bill noted that many child traffickers escape with light sentences or they are sometimes let back onto the streets within days of their arrest.
You might be wondering at this point whose side the Democrats are on? Colorado Democrats reportedly argued that they oppose the harsher minimum sentences in part because offenders might "also be victims," a narrative which has been spreading among leftist activists often in relation to LGBT issues and trans rights issues. The purpose? They assert that pedophilia is a form of sexual orientation, and once something is labeled an orientation it suddenly becomes a protected group status.
But not all behaviors should be tolerated in a civilized society and just because someone might be a "victim" that does not justify their victimization of others. Leftist states have increasingly targeted children with sexualized propaganda including unproven gender fluid theories, to drag shows and trans indoctrination, to sex change hormones and operations on minors without parental consent, to pornographic content in school libraries.
Not long ago Democrats denied any of these activities were real and accused conservatives of "conspiracy theory." Now that they have been thoroughly exposed, the leftist response is to defend the sexualization of children rather than admit they are wrong. One could chalk it all up to the progressive tendency to care more about "winning" than caring about what is actually right, or perhaps there is a more nefarious motive behind their consistent defense of such reprehensible criminal behaviors.
Colorado Democrats seemed to be more outraged by the social media response after they struck down Bill 1092, with some arguing that Republicans House members needed to self-censor. Online commenters posted pictures of wood chippers and nooses on the internet, which Democrats interpreted as a threat. Colorado House Speaker Julie McCluskie said her office has contacted Colorado State Patrol over online posts related to the child trafficking bill, as well as the trans rights legislation.