California Democratic lawmakers have drafted SB82, which aims to change the felony crime of non-armed robbery to a misdemeanor. News of the proposal, which passed the California Senate Safety Committee on Tuesday, March 16, created an uproar in the Chinese-American community.
SB82, sponsored by California Democratic Senator Nancy Skinner, would reduce all future non-armed robbery offenses in California to misdemeanors if passed into law. As a result, the proposal is considered by the public as “Act 47 2.0 enhanced dangerous version”.
On Tuesday afternoon, a large number of people and groups watched the California Senate Safety Committee meeting and called in to oppose SB 82; at least 50 community leaders and people waited for hours before being able to get a number to speak at the meeting. Still, in the end, the proposal passed 4-1, with all four of the supporting votes being Democrats.
California Coalition against Drugs (California Coalition against Drugs) Bay Area Director Frank Lee argued that the California Senate Safety Committee ignored constituent complaints and concerns. Lawmakers are using the lowering of sentences as an excuse to disregard the safety of law-abiding citizens and enable criminals to do more evil.
He attacked SB82 as the worst of the worst, extending the harm done to law and order by “Act 47”. If passed, it would not only allow criminals to get away with stealing under $950, but it would also allow criminals who rob and intentionally harm people to flood the community, which is extremely disturbing.
Many criminals cause more harm (to innocent people), both physically and psychologically, even if they don’t use any weapons,” he said. Seniors and women are the groups most at risk from this proposal, and the proposal doesn’t even consider them.”
On March 12, the California Coalition to End Crime, the Organization for Justice and Equality and the California Coalition Against Drugs jointly issued an emergency statement saying, “At a Time when crime, especially robbery, is on the rise and everyone in the community is feeling extremely uncomfortable, Skinner is once again proposing a bill, SB 82. ……, just as the current misdemeanor of theft under $950 without jail time, is a disguised form of permissiveness. Now that robberies have increased dramatically, everyone is at risk, and if SB82 passes, it will simply make it difficult to live in California.”
SB82 would not impose felony sentences on suspects unless the victim in a robbery is seriously injured. However, groups and private citizens have pointed out that the definition of serious injury is quite narrow in the law and does not easily lead to a conviction. And according to recent robberies in the Chinese community, most of the victims were beaten to the nines and bruises, and the culprits would have only been convicted of misdemeanors if they were not armed and protected by SB82.
According to Shawn Lee, “Skinner’s argument for SB82 is wrong because there are many details in the proposal that would lead to a pardon for felony offenders.”
Christy Hu, a Southern Californian, said, “Now Californians have been victimized by the draconian law 47, where bad guys can get away with theft up to $950, and now comes SB82, which makes even robbery a misdemeanor. According to this thinking, that is, as long as the robber does not use weapons to maim people, even if the unarmed use of violence to injure, robbery, threatening people, are not considered felonies, this is simply incomprehensible. If it really comes to that, I think people will just be forced to carry a gun for protection when they go out.”
Since SB82 has passed the Senate Public Safety Committee, the next step will be to send it to the state Senate Appropriations Committee for review.
However, Shawn Lee urges that if every Californian can spread the word widely about the negative impact that SB82 will have on their communities and keep pressuring and protesting lawmakers with phone calls, letters, and emails against the proposal to broaden the attention, it can make it possible for the proposal to be resisted and possibly even blocked as it moves forward.
Reid, the general coordinator who led last year’s California Referendum No. 20 (aimed at overturning Act 47), emphasized, “Our allies, including police forces, district attorneys, and chambers of commerce throughout California, will do our best to oppose this proposition, and there will be no margin for error!”
Carl Chan, President of the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, said that the important battle against SB82 has just begun. The California District Attorneys Association, the California State Police, victims’ group leaders, Chamber of Commerce leaders and others have voiced their opposition on the issue of this proposal.
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