In an effort to prevent the return of SB82, which would change the crime of “unarmed robbery” from a felony to a misdemeanor, people in Southern California gathered outside the homes of Democratic Assemblymember Ben Chow in California’s 49th District and Democratic Senator Susan Rubio in California’s 22nd District on Friday (April 30) to call on elected officials to respect the will of the people and oppose SB82. They called on elected officials to respect the will of the people and oppose SB82.
On April 30, people gathered in front of the homes of Democratic State Representative Ben Chow and State Senator Susan Rubio to call on elected officials to respect the will of the people and oppose SB82, which would change the crime of “non-armed robbery” from a felony to a misdemeanor. (Linda Kang/The Epoch Times)
SB82, introduced this year by Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-California, seeks to reduce all unarmed robberies that do not cause some degree of bodily harm to a misdemeanor. The proposal is seen by the public as a “permissive” law, and has been resisted by organizations including the California State Police Chief, district attorneys, and the Crime Survivors Association.
At Friday’s protest, people also raised their voices to say “robbery is robbery,” “SB82 will lead to more violent robberies,” “No to SB82,” “No to all crime,” and “No to all crime. “United against all crimes” and other signs to resist the SB82 proposal.
Maria Chi, a member of the public, said that the SB82 proposal simply does not fit the logic of normal thinking. “The law is supposed to protect the safety of the people, but SB82 states that it is not considered robbery and a misdemeanor is required as long as the person is not attacked with an instrument. Now we see that law and order has become very chaotic. Many evil people he just rely on the power, anyway, will be lightly sentenced, they act recklessly, has threatened the safety of the people, this is not allowed.”
“(According to SB82’s logic), it is really lawless, everyone can rob, is not indirectly encourage people can go to rob others at will? Is the safety of people’s lives still guaranteed this way?” She also believes that civil society must make its voice heard: “We came here to show that we do not support draconian laws, and that we must all rise up to defend our own safety, the safety of our families, the safety of our communities.”
Earlier this month (April 5), SB82, which had been passed by the California Senate Safety Committee, was shelved when it was sent to the state Senate Appropriations Committee for review because the wave of civil opposition was too strong.
This news is encouraging, but the opposition continues. Many groups have cautioned that SB82 is only temporarily on hold and that the exact status will not be confirmed until May. As long as California legislators decide to reopen the proposal, it is still possible that the proposal, which was placed on “hold,” will be revived.
For this reason, Chinese attorney Fenglan Liu, who attended the rally, urged everyone not to take it lightly and to continue to contact all California legislators to stop the passage of SB82 once and for all.
She said that since SB82 was introduced, it has caused panic in the community. “People think that once this SB82 is passed, we will not dare to go out in the future because (bad guys) can just rob and rob without going to jail. In that case, everyone’s life will be in danger. Not just us Asians, but everyone’s life will be in danger.”
“And what’s even scarier is that (prisoners) who have already been sentenced and are in (prison) before, will be released based on this criteria, and they will all have to be released. So many murderers, who are simply not getting the punishment they deserve, are going to be released into our communities before they’ve been educated.” She said, “The Democratic Party’s rationale is to reduce prison expenses, so which is more important, the safety of our people’s lives or the small amount of expenses that will be reduced?”
Liu Fenglan added that constituents from the 49th state House district and 22nd state Senate district drafted and co-signed a letter to Benny Chow and Rubio, respectively. The letter strongly urges them to truly represent the voice of the people and oppose SB82.
The letter reads, “If SB82 is passed, robberies that do not involve the use of a weapon and cause serious injury will be considered only petty theft, effectively granting amnesty to the robber. Such violent robberies would still be considered non-violent petty theft, which is illogical, immoral, and barbarically encourages or aids criminals.”
“Proposition SB82 will embolden criminals to continue robbing.” In the letter, voters also questioned, “Does Senator Skinner put the safety and protection of his constituents first? Or is she only concerned with her own political advancement and thus sacrificing the safety and well-being of Californians? Who is she really working for? Who is she connected to?”
As a result, the constituents also strongly urged the legislators in their letter, “We strongly urge you to vote no on SB82 if it is brought to the Assembly in the future. We look forward to seeing you make the right decision on Proposition SB82.”
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