California prostitution bill advances, would decriminalize loitering with intent

California lawmakers voted to pass a bill on Friday that would decriminalize loitering with the intent to work as a prostitute, with supporters claiming it unfairly targets minorities, according to reports.

While proponents of the bill say minorities and transgender people are often singled out in disproportionate numbers by the loitering law based on the way they’re dressed, opponents claim the proposal would take away from law enforcement a tool for helping sex trafficking victims.  The bill passed 41-26 in the Assembly after intense debate, splitting moderate and liberal Democrats, with Republicans siding with moderate Democrats against the bill. It was to return to the state Senate on Friday for consideration before lawmakers adjourn for the year, FOX 40 of Sacramento reported. "Holding the bill at the Senate desk is simply a temporary delay," Catie Stewart, a spokeswoman for state Sen. Scott Wiener, who authored the bill, said, according to the Sacramento Bee. "It provides the senator and our coalition more time to make the case about why this civil rights bill is good policy that should be signed into law and why this discriminatory loitering crime goes against California values and needs to be repealed."