Vice President Kamala Harris, who once sought the presidency, is reportedly linked to a Democrat who attempted to decriminalize the possession of child pornography, according to the Daily Caller.
This Democrat is none other than Mark Leno, a former California State Senator who was known to Harris as a "dear friend." Leno is infamous for authoring a bill that would have allowed individuals to possess up to 99 "items" of child pornography without facing felony charges, as stated by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in 2006. The Daily Caller, citing McCarthy's analysis, pointed out that a single compact disc containing 1,000 pornographic images would have been considered a single "item" under this legislation.
When Leno's bill was initially proposed, McCarthy was serving as the Republican leader of the California Assembly. He expressed concern that the bill, in its original form, would have provided legal loopholes for pedophiles to indulge their perverse desires without the threat of felony charges.
However, Leno's proposed legislation was not well received, even among his own party. The Daily Caller highlighted a quote from Democratic political analyst Pat Caddell, who told the Los Angeles Daily News, "What the Democrats did on AB 50 was insane, insane100 exemptions for child porn? They had to figure out this was not good? If this seeps into voters minds, my God.'"
The mainstream media also expressed their disapproval. The Los Angeles Daily News criticized the bill, stating, "Early on, AB 50 was filled with loopholes that would make your skin crawl. For instance, Leno 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 Lenos plan to go soft on child porn."
Despite the controversy surrounding Leno's legislative efforts, his relationship with Harris has remained strong for over two decades, as evidenced by social media posts and archived news stories. It is even suggested that they shared an election night dinner in 2003. An interview published in KQED recalls, On election night, Matthew and Kamala and I believe [then state assembly member] Mark Leno and a couple of other people went to dinner, and Kamala was like, Come to dinner, and Im like, No, Im going to sit here with Shyamala [and her friend], and were going to get the [election results], were going to hang out.
When Leno retired from politics in 2016, Harris praised his "committed service" to "secure a better future for Californias most vulnerable children." She thanked him for his "incredible leadership." Earlier that year, Harris had tweeted about an LGBT Caucus event, expressing that she was "proud to stand" with Leno.
In 2018, Leno tweeted a photo of him and Harris, captioning it, Nice to catch up with my great supporter and dear friend of two decades @KamalaHarris at tonights Labor Council COPE Dinner! This enduring relationship raises questions about Harris's judgement and the company she keeps, given Leno's controversial legislative history.
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