The California Assembly committee on public safety blocked a bill that would increase the charges for human trafficking.
The Golden State lower house committee considered Senate Bill 14, which would make the human trafficking of children a "serious felony." Serious felony charges under California law currently include murder, rape, and any other crime which may incur the death penalty or life sentence in state prison.
However, instead of upping the ante on child traffickers, the California Assembly Public Safety Committee nuked the measure on Tuesday.
"Horrible!" someone yelled as victims sobbed at the dais.
"You know you’re on the wrong side of an issue when you deliver a win for human traffickers. Democrats on the Public Safety Committee proved they have no intention of protecting the lives of Californians, let alone protecting innocent children from the horrors of human trafficking," California GOP chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson said.
"What we saw today from California Democrats was heartless and disgusting," Patterson continued.
"Once again, Democrats are looking out for the most vicious criminals at the expense of victims," California Assembly Republican leader James Gallagher said.
"Any normal person would tell you that human trafficking a minor is a serious crime, but Democrats would rather enable these monsters than hold them accountable," Gallagher added.
According to local news, no Democrats on the committee voted for the bill. Only one Republican assemblyman — Assemblyman Tom Lackey — voted yes on the bill while the GOP vice chair of the committee, Assemblyman Juan Alanis, was out of the committee room at the time of the vote.
S.B. 14 was given reconsideration, meaning it could be taken up again by the California Assembly next year.
S.B. 14 cleared the California Senate unanimously with bipartisan support in May.
Meanwhile, in Florida, Attorney General Ashley Moody is demanding Mark Zuckerberg explain the high volume of human trafficking across Meta platforms after an eerie report revealed pedophiles are using the metaverse to sexually exploit children.
Moody sent a letter to Zuckerberg Monday, inviting the CEO to speak with Florida's Statewide Council on Human Trafficking on what preventative measures, if any, the tech giant is taking to end human trafficking on sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp.
Facebook was reportedly the top platform used for the recruitment of human trafficking victims from 2019 to 2022, according to the 2022 Federal Human Trafficking report that also found 53% of traffickers use the internet to solicit buyers of commercial sex.
Fox News Digital’s Aubrie Spady contributed reporting.
