Example of how Sacramento legislating works (NO on AB 63, seeks to re-criminalize loitering!)

There’s an authoritarian move underfoot to re-criminalize "loitering with intent to commit prostitution”, by reimposing Section 653.22 of the California penal code, which was eliminated several years ago in decriminalization legislation sponsored by state senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and signed by governor Gavin Newsom.

Now another Democrat, Michelle Rodriguez (D-Ontario), has put forward Assembly Bill 63 in an attempt to recriminalize this vague “offense” (how police officers are supposed to read the minds of persons on the street to determine what their “intent” is, has never been truly explained).

Laws against loitering (like laws against nudity) are arguably among the most absurd, senseless, and offensive laws on the books, because they subject people to arrest, criminal records, and possible incarceration and prosecution for literally doing nothing.

Sex work rights advocates posted this 20 minute video clip of the State Assembly Public Safety Committee’s hearing on AB 63 today. It’s worth watching, not only to hear what the proponents and opponents of this particular authoritarian bill are saying, but as a glimpse into how the legislative process in Sacramento typically works:

Each side has a parade of people present to testify, many of them employees of government agencies, most probably there on the taxpayers’ dime. Even many of those not directly employed by government, work for non-profits that are probably receiving taxpayer funding, and again are likely being paid to be there.

This is not to denigrate the staffers at Public Defenders offices, representatives of the ACLU, workers with sex work rights non-profits, and others who took the time to show up and speak against AB 63. We should appreciate them being there and speaking out against the expansion of government at the expense of civil liberties – if they are being paid in part with your stolen money, such harm reduction efforts are certainly among the least objectionable uses of taxpayer funds.

Nevertheless, it is telling and notable that of the dozens who testified today, not one appeared to be simply a member of the general public, unconnected to any organization with an institutional interest in the matter. This is sadly typical, and a recurring feature of Big Government statism – few ordinary people have the time, resources, etc., to follow and weigh in on all the endless crap being generated in the governmental chambers of Sacramento, Washington, or even locally here in San Francisco.

All the more reason why it does help to speak out as an ordinary person against bad bills like AB 63. Fewer people do so in a state of ~39 million residents than you might think. This bill was not passed out of the Public Safety Committee, but is on a 2-year track and will be taken up by the committee again, probably later this year following a committee hearing in Assemblymember Rodriguez’s district.

Here are the email addresses of some of the staffers for members of the committee. I encourage you to take a minute to write to them (probably most effective to copy and past what you write into a separate email for each recipient, and not list your location unless you happen to live in their district), and let them know you oppose people being criminalized for doing nothing, and OPPOSE AB 63:

Chair Asm. Nick Schultz
Ilan.Zur@asm.ca.gov mailto:Ilan.Zur@asm.ca.gov, jim.metropulos@asm.ca.gov mailto:jim.metropulos@asm.ca.gov
Asm. Mark Gonzalez
vincent.huynh@asm.ca.gov mailto:vincent.huynh@asm.ca.gov
Asm. Matt Haney*
Doonya.Mahmoud@asm.ca.gov mailto:Doonya.Mahmoud@asm.ca.gov
Asm. John Harabedian
Alicia.Hatfield@asm.ca.gov mailto:Alicia.Hatfield@asm.ca.gov
Asm. Stephanie Nguyen
Idriss.Mezzour@asm.ca.gov mailto:Idriss.Mezzour@asm.ca.gov
Asm. Dr. LaShae Sharp-Collins
taylor.valmores@asm.ca.gov mailto:taylor.valmores@asm.ca.gov

*Represents District 17, encompassing eastern San Francisco (see District Map | Official Website - Assemblymember Matt Haney Representing the 17th California Assembly District)

If you want some talking points for your letter, or just dare to see a bit of how the sausage gets made, here again is the link to the short video clip from today’s hearing:

California Ass Public Safety hearing on AB63 4/29/2025 AB

If a phone call is more your style than a written letter, you can call and leave a message for members of the Public Safety Committee urging a NO vote on AB 63 by calling (916) 319-3744.

Or if you want to go the extra mile for liberty, you can find the contact information (phone and email addresses) for all members of the State Assembly, and look up your representative, here – Members | California State Assembly.

Hopefully this anti-libertarian garbage will die in committee, but in case it doesn’t, and just to communicate how the public feels about their resources being wasted on this kind of nonsense fueling mass incarceration and the destruction of civil liberties, it doesn’t hurt to let “your” representative know how you feel about AB 63 even if they aren’t on the committee themselves.

Love & Liberty,

((( starchild )))
Chair, Libertarian Party of San Francisco
(415) 573-7997

P.S. – You can also read this message on the Libertarian Party of San Francisco website, LPSF.org http://lpsf.org/.

Starchild,

Nobody has ever been convicted or sentenced or fully prosecuted* in The United States of :united_states:America ( much less under the local TOOTHLESS @SFBos(ses)’ MPC§154 — which has never been utilized for convictions or sentencing because it is laughably & preposterously unconstitutional & which even the most incompetent defense attorney could argue to get such cases dismissed on behalf of a defendant in absentia ) for simple Nudism Naturism or in #ThePureSuitOfHappiness.

Those still peddling such specious fallacies are illiterate & innumerate fearmongers who should find one ( 1 ) case to justify such alarmism & mendacity ( fearmongering is the last bastion of those who have lost all factual arguments.” ).

If sexworkers were even smarter ( aside from not paying taxes toward this corrupt af system of scams & schemes called #USgovt ), I reckon they would be equally immune & never be subject to AB63 either for their non-violent activities. The only real prostitutes we should be concerned about incarcerating in cages for life sentences are clowns like Gubbernator Nuisance & Anthony Weiner & their ilk who cannot seem to stop themselves from obscenely contorting themselves to sell out to the highest bidder for what amounts to chump change.

Anybody who attends our @SFWNBR Rides&AfterParties ( NEXT : Sat 17 May ) would immediately understand — or get brief(less) Experience about — how to stand up for their INALIENABLE Liberties & codified Rights & effectively divest from & defy such inane nanny tyrannies.

*They “can indict [ & arrest ] a ham sandwich,” as the saying goes; but anyone so molested should immediately file a counter harassment complaint against the offending authorities.

Thanks so much, Starchild. I agree that normal working people need to let
their voices be heard at these hearings and I, too, was stunned by the
dramatic antics of the speakers about the bill. Personally, there is so
much to fight right now that I clear one entire day per week to write
letters, make phone calls and between tasks I send postcards (I’m old and
it is fun to troll Trump with my homemade postcards). It makes this work a
tad more manageable. We have big battles to win.

In solidarity,
Antonia

···

On Tue, Apr 29, 2025 at 10:18 PM Starchild sfdreamer@earthlink.net wrote:

There’s an authoritarian move underfoot to re-criminalize "loitering with
intent to commit prostitution”, by reimposing Section 653.22 of the
California penal code
, which was eliminated several years ago in
decriminalization legislation sponsored by state senator Scott Wiener
(D-San Francisco) and signed by governor Gavin Newsom.

Now another Democrat, Michelle Rodriguez (D-Ontario), has put forward Assembly
Bill 63
in an attempt to recriminalize this vague “offense” (how police
officers are supposed to read the minds of persons on the street to
determine what their “intent” is, has never been truly explained).

Laws against *loitering *(like laws against nudity) are arguably among
the most absurd, senseless, and offensive laws on the books, because they
subject people to arrest, criminal records, and possible incarceration and
prosecution for literally doing nothing.

Sex work rights advocates posted this 20 minute video clip of the State
Assembly Public Safety Committee’s hearing on AB 63 today
. It’s worth
watching, not only to hear what the proponents and opponents of this
particular authoritarian bill are saying, but as a glimpse into how the
legislative process in Sacramento typically works:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpf84wjvSLg

Each side has a parade of people present to testify, many of them
employees of government agencies, most probably there on the taxpayers’
dime. Even many of those not directly employed by government, work for
non-profits that are probably receiving taxpayer funding, and again are
likely being paid to be there.

This is not to denigrate the staffers at Public Defenders offices,
representatives of the ACLU, workers with sex work rights non-profits, and
others who took the time to show up and speak against AB 63. We should
appreciate them being there and speaking out against the expansion of
government at the expense of civil liberties – if they are being paid in
part with your stolen money, such harm reduction efforts are certainly
among the *least *objectionable uses of taxpayer funds.

Nevertheless, it is telling and notable that of the dozens who testified
today, not one appeared to be simply a member of the general public,
unconnected to any organization with an institutional interest in the
matter. This is sadly typical, and a recurring feature of Big Government
statism – few ordinary people have the time, resources, etc., to follow and
weigh in on all the endless crap being generated in the governmental
chambers of Sacramento, Washington, or even locally here in San Francisco.

All the more reason why it does help to speak out as an ordinary person against
bad bills like AB 63
. Fewer people do so in a state of ~39 million
residents than you might think. This bill was not passed out of the Public
Safety Committee, but is on a 2-year track and will be taken up by the
committee again, probably later this year following a committee hearing in
Assemblymember Rodriguez’s district.

Here are the email addresses of some of the staffers for members of the
committee. I encourage you to take a minute to write to them (probably most
effective to copy and past what you write into a separate email for each
recipient, and not list your location unless you happen to live in their
district), and let them know you oppose people being criminalized for
doing nothing
, and OPPOSE AB 63:

Chair Asm. Nick Schultz
Ilan.Zur@asm.ca.gov, jim.metropulos@asm.ca.gov
Asm. Mark Gonzalez
vincent.huynh@asm.ca.gov
Asm. Matt Haney*
Doonya.Mahmoud@asm.ca.gov
Asm. John Harabedian
Alicia.Hatfield@asm.ca.gov
Asm. Stephanie Nguyen
Idriss.Mezzour@asm.ca.gov
Asm. Dr. LaShae Sharp-Collins
taylor.valmores@asm.ca.gov

*Represents District 17, encompassing eastern San Francisco (see
District Map | Official Website - Assemblymember Matt Haney Representing the 17th California Assembly District)

If you want some talking points for your letter, or just dare to see a bit
of how the sausage gets made, here again is the link to the short video
clip from today’s hearing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpf84wjvSLg

California Ass Public Safety hearing on AB63 4/29/2025 AB
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpf84wjvSLg
youtube.com https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpf84wjvSLg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpf84wjvSLg

If a phone call is more your style than a written letter, you can call and
leave a message for members of the Public Safety Committee urging a NO
vote on AB 63 by calling (916) 319-3744.

Or* if you want to go the extra mile for liberty*, you can find the
contact information (phone and email addresses) for all members of the
State Assembly, and look up your representative, here –
Members | California State Assembly.

Hopefully this anti-libertarian garbage will die in committee, but in case
it doesn’t, and just to communicate how the public feels about their
resources being wasted on this kind of nonsense fueling mass incarceration
and the destruction of civil liberties, it doesn’t hurt to let “your”
representative know how you feel about AB 63 even if they aren’t on the
committee themselves.

Love & Liberty,

((( starchild )))
Chair, Libertarian Party of San Francisco
(415) 573-7997

P.S. – You can also read this message on the Libertarian Party of San
Francisco website, LPSF.org.

Antonia Crane https://www.antoniacrane.com/

Wallis Annenberg PhD Fellow in Creative Writing/Literature

University of Southern California

*A World Workers Built *
https://lapublicpress.org/2023/12/opinion-sex-workers-in-la-winning-labor-rights-whether-naysayers-like-it-or-not/

CEO/Founder: Stripper Worker Center 501(c)(4)

EIN 99-473-7973