California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday signed a controversial bill to repeal a provision of state law that bans loitering for the intent to sell sex — a proposal that deeply divided Democrats in the Legislature and pitted transgender rights activists against advocates to stop human trafficking.
Anti-loitering laws have been contentious nationwide, in part because they are often vague in their definition of what constitutes as loitering, which gives police wide latitude to arrest or disperse individuals. While New York state and cities such as Seattle have repealed anti-loitering laws, California now becomes the largest state to do so.
In his signing statement released on Friday, Newsom alluded to the difficult political debate around the bill, but noted that it "does not legalize prostitution."
