A former California State Senator and “dear friend” of Kamala Harris once introduced legislation that would impose more lenient punishments for child pornography possession.
The California Democrat, Mark Leno, had several seemingly pro-pedophile policy positions.
According to a Los Angeles Daily News op-ed, Leno “oversaw the demise” of legislation to close loopholes that allowed “hard-core sex criminals,” including child molesters, who were committed to Atascadero State Hospital to go home early. After SB 864 requiring a stricter commitment to Atascadero passed in the California State Senate unanimously, Mark Leno was reportedly one of three “ultraliberal” legislators to kill the legislation in committee.
The op-ed continues to state that Leno’s AB 50 “provided an ‘exemption’ from felony charges if a suspect was caught with less than 100 pieces of child pornography. In a creepy all-time low, Assembly Democrats voted for Leno’s plan to go soft on child porn.”
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who was serving as an Assembly Republican leader during the period, reportedly said that under the exemption a compact disc with 1,000 images would have counted as just one piece of child pornography. And it wasn’t just Republicans who were against this pro-sex predator bill. Longtime Democrat and political analyst Pat Caddell also described the legislation–specifically the “100 exemptions for child porn”–as “insane.”
When Leno announced his retirement from the California Legislature in 2016, Kamala Harris notably commended his “secure a better future for California’s most vulnerable children” and declared herself a friend in a statement from her office as Attorney General. In a tweet posted the next day, Harris thanked Leno for “14 years of passionate & collaborative service.”
Leno and Harris have maintained a close relationship for over two decades, according to both of their social media posts and old news articles.
(Kamala Harris/Mark Leno- Photo Credit/ https///www.flickr.com/photos/lynnfriedman/9162410777 — Lynn Friedman “Mark Leno and Kamala Harris Share an Emotional Moment at City Hall During the First Legal Gay Marriage Performed in 2013.”)
In 2003, Leno campaigned with Harris during her run for San Francisco District Attorney.
“With less name recognition than Hallinan and Fazio, Harris is taking her message to the streets. Saturday, she campaigned through the Castro with queer leaders including Assemblyman Mark Leno, Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club co-chair Theresa Sparks, Hank Wilson and Martha Knutzen,” The San Fransisco Examiner wrote in 2003.
