Calif. State Sen. Leaves the Democrat Party After 12 Years: ‘I’m Done with Us Protecting People Who Would Buy and Abuse Our Children’

TALAMANTES EGGMAN: “Thank you, Mr. President and members. I’d like to say, as a — as a progressive proud member of this body for the last 12 years, I’m done. I’m done with us protecting people who would buy and abuse our children. I’m done. I don’t want to send more black and brown men to prison, I don’t want more people in prison, but I don’t want people buying girls. I don’t want people buying little girls anymore. And I’m tired of saying it’s OK, and that we have to protect the men who do it. As a mental health professional, and as a social worker, I can tell you, I’ve spent my entire career working with people who have been wounded, I’m not going to say beyond repair, but they have been wounded to their core, by the abuse that’s been heaped on them oftentimes by those that they love, and look to protect them. And if their parents won’t do it, then by God, we should. Again, I am not arguing that we opened the gates to flood our prisons with people, but I am arguing that we have a moral responsibility to say enough, enough. We have given away enough on this area and we’ve got to move back into the center or we all look like fools and laughing stocks. And what do we stand for? I ask all of you to watch the documentary that Senator Grove was in, senator from Kern County was just in, that talked about this very place in Sacramento where girls are being bought and sold. Men are being given a slap on the hand or a couple days, and then they’re back out again and they do the same thing. They get caught over and over and over again. And somehow that’s OK. It’s not OK. It is not OK anymore. And no, no more on my watch. And like I said, I’m leaving, but the rest of you we’re gonna be here for a while, let’s get our stuff together and really start focusing on some of the important things. We talked about learning and we talked about being safe. This is like at the core of it. And a lot of these kids can be throw away kids, they are poor kids, they are kids of color, but they shouldn’t have to live a life determined by what happens to them by others at a very young age and by how the Democratic Party of California say it’s OK. It’s not OK. And I’m not doing it anymore. And I hope None of you do too. We have to be able to draw a line and for me, I’m drawing a line. I urge your aye vote.”