Dear Community:
Trans Latin@ Coalition, Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach, Positive Women’s Network – USA, St. James Infirmary, SWOP LA, ACLU California Action, and Equality California are co-sponsoring SB 357, the Safer Streets for All Act, authored by Senator Scott Wiener, and we would appreciate your support!
SB 357 would repeal the California law that criminalizes loitering with intent to commit prostitution and create a way for persons who have been convicted of loitering in the past to have their records cleared. This law is discriminatorily enforced against Black and trans sex workers and allows police to arrest someone based on what they are wearing or where they are standing. I've attached the fact sheet for more information.
Here is how you can take action to support SB 357:
1. Submit Your Letter Of Support to the Senate Public Safety Committee by Noon On April 6th
Below is a template letter of support. Letters must be submitted via the legislative portal by Noon on Tues., April 6th. Instructions for using the legislative portal are here: https://calegislation.lc.ca.gov/Advocates/. If you have difficulty using the portal, please let us know and we can assist you.
Create an account if you do not already have one.
Click on “Submit a Letter”
Select a bill: SB 357
Select recipient: Senate Public Safety
Select Stance: Support, Subject SB 357, upload your letter, review, and submit.
Help us keep track by sending a copy of the letter to Minouche Kandel from the ACLU at mkandel@aclusocal.org
2. Please share this e-mail widely with your networks.
You can even share this webpage directly: https://bayareaworkerssupport.org/events/sb357
3. Voice Your Support At the Senate Public Safety Committee Hearing On April 13th
SB 357 will be heard in Senate Public Safety Committee on Tuesday, April 13th. The hearing starts at 1:30 pm, but SB 357 could be heard later in the afternoon. Please call into the hearing to voice your support. Instructions for calling in to give testimony are here, under “Teleconference Instructions”: Welcome to the Senate Standing Committee on Public Safety | Senate Public Safety Committee (ca.gov).
Thank you in advance for your support!
THANK YOU TO THE ACLU NORCAL FOR PUTTING THIS INFORMATION + TEMPLATE LETTER TOGETHER <3
Template Letter:
Date: {Date}
Committee on Public Safety
California State Senate
State Capitol, Room 2031
Sacramento, CA 95814
Re: SB 357 (Wiener) – Safer Streets for All -- Support
To the Senate Committee on Public Safety:
{Your name or the name of your organization, and a brief description} is writing in support of SB 357, a measure that will repeal California Penal Code § 653.22, which criminalizes loitering for the intent to engage in prostitution. [Include a sentence about your organization’s connection to
the issues in this bill.]
The broad subjective nature of the anti-loitering law has created opportunities for law enforcement to engage in discriminatory policing that targets Black and Brown women and members of the transgender community. For instance, Black adults accounted for 56.1% of the § 653.22 charges in Los Angeles between 2017-2019, despite only making up 8.9% of the city’s population.
By repealing Section 653.22, SB 357 eliminates a law that allows police to rely on bias rather than evidence to criminalize otherwise legal activities like walking, dressing, or standing in
public, and results in the harassment of LGTBQ+, Black and Brown communities for simply looking like a “sex worker” to law enforcement. Arresting sex workers or persons perceived to be sex workers increases safety risks for people trading sex. Sex workers are more vulnerable to exploitation and violence and have barriers to accessing safe housing and legal employment when they can be arrested for loitering.
We urge you to support SB 357 to increase sex worker safety. We must stop criminalizing the color of a person’s skin, gender, or livelihood. We all deserve to exist in public peacefully without fear of arrest.
Sincerely,
(your name)
(title/org if applicable)
(Contact information)