California’s crime-friendly environment has led to numerous Legal Insurrection reports of smash-and-grab robberies, Beverly Hills becoming a ghost town, piracy in Oakland Day, and a constant stream of organized retail theft.
The politicians in Sacramento and the big, Blue cities seem disinclined to tackle the escalating problem, as evidenced by some wild new laws slated for 2024. For example, new rules mandate that law enforcement agencies use the “preferred pronouns” of suspects and set limits on mugshots being used on social media.
A California law taking effect Monday will include preferred pronouns with suspects’ mugshots while also limiting their presence on social media.
California’s AB 994 amended the current law on publishing mugshots, only allowing the mugshots of suspects with violent charges to remain on social media for two weeks. Those posted on social media should also only be posted if “the suspect is a fugitive or an imminent threat to an individual or to public safety and releasing or disseminating the suspect’s image will assist in locating or apprehending the suspect or reducing or eliminating the threat.”This law will apply retroactively, meaning that agencies will have to delete old mugshots from their social media. However, this law will not apply to the websites or data systems of agencies.
Other new rules make it hard for law-abiding citizens to choose or engage in free speech.
— AB 2282 expands the definition of hate symbols to include any symbols or marks with “the intent to terrorize another person,” such as Nazi symbols and nooses. The bill also speaks to the need to address hate crimes with symbols against certain minority groups.— SB 700 modifies existing law to make it unlawful for an employer to request information from an applicant relating to the applicant’s prior use of cannabis, or to use prior criminal history of cannabis use.— AB 1418 bans local California governments from enforcing crime-free housing policies. Such policies prevent landlords from renting to those with prior convictions, but may also call for the eviction of tenants based on arrests or contact with law enforcement.
As I have noted before, California now has a budget deficit of $68 billion, partly due to the loss of tax revenue from former Californians who now reside in a less crime-friendly state. Census numbers show the state had a net outflow of 350,000.
More than 800,000 people moved out of California between 2021 and 2022, according to the US Census Bureau. After subtracting the number of people who moved in, California lost almost 350,000 residents.Bob Giramma, a 63-year-old business owner, moved away from San Diego and landed in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, a town 30 miles southeast of Nashville. Giramma was looking for a quieter and cheaper lifestyle outside of California.”We weren’t tied to any community, so we looked for a place that was more aligned with the forward path for us,” Giramma told Business Insider. “California was not aligned with that. Tennessee is.”
If the new laws are any indication, 2024 will see the California deficit get even larger as more of the tax base flee the state to where there are sensible lawmakers and the concerns of law-abiding citizens are addressed.
Meanwhile, California returns to the golden days of….the Wild West.
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