Newsom’s STUPID Experiment Goes Horribly WRONG…

California Governor Gavin Newsom just admitted his own progressive policy was a disaster by repealing the very law he championed that led to a surge in sex trafficking and street prostitution across the Golden State.

Progressive Experiment Goes Horribly Wrong

Back in 2022, during Pride Month no less, Newsom proudly signed SB 357 into law, decriminalizing loitering for the purpose of prostitution. The progressive darling claimed it would protect marginalized communities from police harassment. Instead, it opened the floodgates to exactly what common-sense conservatives predicted would happen. Street prostitution exploded across California, particularly in Los Angeles, turning neighborhoods into open-air markets for human exploitation. But here’s the kicker—the very people this law was supposed to protect, including minors, became the biggest victims of increased sex trafficking.

Newsom, Eyeing Presidential Run, Repeals Own Law Decriminalizing Loitering, Which Had Led to Sex Trafficking. I have no doubt he’ll run but this is still a joke. Of course so is his presidency https://t.co/a7fB8jxXAG

— kevin waterbury (@WaterburyKevin) July 31, 2025

Now, three years later and with presidential ambitions dancing in his head, Newsom is desperately trying to clean up his own mess. AB 379 restores misdemeanor penalties for loitering with intent to purchase sex and creates felony charges for those soliciting minors aged 16 or 17. It’s almost like the adults in the room finally told him that protecting children should come before appeasing the radical left’s agenda.

Political Convenience Over Principled Leadership

Let’s call this what it is—a calculated political move by a man who smells the White House and realizes his progressive track record is toxic outside of California’s bubble. Newsom’s statement that California is “again going on record to support survivors and victims of human trafficking” is rich coming from the same governor who created the conditions that enabled more trafficking in the first place. This isn’t leadership; it’s damage control from someone who put ideology over the safety of vulnerable children and women.

The timeline tells the whole story. Newsom delayed signing the original bill until June 2022, likely knowing it was problematic, but caved to pressure from progressive activists. For three years, California became a laboratory for disastrous social experimentation while real people suffered the consequences. Now, facing the political reality that swing voters don’t appreciate governors who make it easier for predators to operate, he’s scrambling to appear tough on crime.

The Real Cost of Woke Policies

This debacle perfectly illustrates everything wrong with progressive governance. They prioritize virtue signaling over protecting the most vulnerable in our society. Sex Worker and LGBTQ advocacy groups pushed this law claiming it would reduce police harassment, but what actually happened? More children became victims of trafficking, neighborhoods turned into red-light districts, and law enforcement lost critical tools to protect minors from sexual exploitation.

The fact that moderate Democrats finally broke ranks to support this repeal shows how catastrophically the original law failed. When even California Democrats can’t stomach the results of their own progressive policies, you know things have gone off the rails. Republican State Senator Shannon Grove deserves credit for consistently advocating for making child trafficking a serious felony, while Democrats played politics with children’s safety.

Too Little, Too Late

While it’s encouraging that sanity has temporarily prevailed in Sacramento, this reversal can’t undo three years of increased exploitation and trafficking that occurred under Newsom’s watch. The governor wants credit for fixing a problem he created, but voters shouldn’t forget that his ideological blindness enabled predators to operate more freely in California. This is exactly the kind of failed leadership that conservative voters are fed up with—progressives creating disasters, then expecting applause for partially cleaning up their own mess.

As Newsom eyes a presidential run, this flip-flop reveals a pattern of putting political ambition over consistent principles. Today he’s tough on trafficking, yesterday he was enabling it, and tomorrow he’ll probably pivot again depending on which way the political winds blow. America needs leaders who get it right the first time, not politicians who use our most vulnerable citizens as test subjects for their latest woke experiment.

Sources:

Los Angeles Times – Gavin Newsom signs bill to repeal California’s anti-loitering law debate sex work

Breitbart – Newsom eyeing presidential run repeals own law enabling sex trafficking led

Los Angeles Times – In break from progressives Newsom says soliciting 16 and 17 year olds should be a felony in California

Gender Policy Report – The harm of anti prostitution loitering laws

California Healthline – Morning briefing Thursday July 31 2025