California would eliminate a disparity in its statutory rape laws that critics say is a discriminatory vestige of the historic criminalization of gay sex, under a bill sent Monday to Gov. Gavin Newsom.
SB145 by state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, would remove automatic sex-offender registration for young adults who are convicted of having anal or oral sex with a minor, leaving the decision up to a judge. Newsom has until the end of September to act on the measure.
Under current law, a judge can decide whether to place a man who has vaginal intercourse with an underage teenage girl on the sex offender registry based on the facts of the case. But if anal or oral sex, or vaginal penetration with anything other than a penis is involved, the adult must register as a sex offender — a relic of a penal code that criminalized those acts until 1975, even between consenting adults.
The California Supreme Court upheld the legal difference in 2015, arguing that because vaginal intercourse can lead to pregnancy, forcing a father to register as a sex offender would subject him to social stigmatization that could make it difficult to find a job and support his child.
Wiener’s bill would treat all sex acts the same: Although minors cannot legally consent, if a teenager ages 14 to 17 voluntarily had sex with an adult who is less than 10 years older, the judge would have discretion over placing the adult on the sex-offender registry…
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