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California Republican Assembly Member Joe Patterson called out Democratic lawmakers for playing “partisan politics,” after Democrats shot down a Republican bill which would increase the penalties for sex crimes. Just a day later, they approved a Democrat bill to increase the criminal penalties for theft and property damage of high-value property.
“I’m more concerned about protecting the safety of Californians, but it seems like some legislators are more interested in partisan politics.” Patterson, R-Granite Bay (Placer County) told Fox News Digital.
On March 15, California Democrats killed Assembly Bill 229 by Patterson to classify domestic violence, human trafficking and other sex crimes as a violent crime in the state. Under current California law, human trafficking is defined as a “non-serious” and a “non-violent” crime.
Assembly Bill 229, titled Violent Felonies, was shot down by the Democrat supermajority with six Democrats voting against Patterson’s bill and the two Republicans voting in favor.
The California State Capitol building in Sacramento, Calif., in July 2021. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Assembly Public Safety Committee Chairperson Reggie Jones-Sawyer, a Democrat, did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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A day after voting against Patterson’s bill, the committee considered Assembly Bill 484 by Assembly Member Jesse Gabriel, D-Woodland Hills (Los Angeles County), to impose sentence enhancements on people convicted of taking, damaging or destroying property worth more than $275,000.
Assembly Bill 484, titled Sentencing enhancements: Property Loss, received bipartisan support with five Democrats and 2 Republicans voting in favor of Gabriel’s bill.
“Doesn’t really make sense to me why Capitol Democrats don’t feel like domestic violence and human trafficking should be a violent crime, but damaging property is…
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