PAST LEGISLATIVE SUCCESS.
Pro-Life & Pro-Family
The reason Americans enter into the government is to have our life, liberty and property protected. But how can we say that our government protects life when we aren’t fully protecting the lives of the unborn? I am 100% pro-life and will fight for stricter legislation to protect the lives of children.
In 2019 I was honored to present Senator Milkovich’s SB184 Heartbeat Bill on the house floor. This was huge for our state and though it is pending the federal court rulings on the MS legislation, in the event that Roe vs Wade is repealed, the term of the beginning of life will be determined in our state.
In 2019, I opposed other legislation that set an age limit for marriage in our state. It is the parent’s decision when a child is mature enough to take a husband or wife.
I also opposed the legislation that was offered concerning the custody of children. In a perfect world, every parent would have the best interest of their child as a priority. Unfortunately, more and more we have grandparents and other family members who are caring for children while the parents are not able. I appreciate those family members rather than an overburdened foster care system or unfit parent retaining custody of our children.
I am also an advocate for traditional marriage between a man and a woman.
Human Trafficking
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In 2011, the State of Louisiana adapted the U.S. definition of trafficking making it a criminal offense: “to knowingly recruit, harbor, transport, provide, solicit, obtain, or maintain the use of another person through fraud, force, or coercion to provide services or labor” (RS 14:46.2)” and “to knowingly recruit, harbor, transport, provide, solicit, obtain, or maintain the use of another person under the age of 18 years for the purpose of engaging in commercial sexual activity” (RS 14:46.3).” The 2 most common types of human trafficking are sexual exploitation and forced labor.Human Trafficking is the fastest growing and the second largest criminal industry in the world (behind drug dealing), earning more than $32 billion per year. It is estimated that $9.5 billion is generated in the United States alone.
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75% of minors engaged in prostitution have a pimp who can earn up to $632,000 per year.
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Average age of entrance into HT (Polaris project data):
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​Girls 12-14
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​Boys 11-13
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Between 14,500 and 17,500 people are trafficked into the US each year and 1/3 are children (US State Dept estimate).
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Approximately 293,000 American youth are at risk of being trafficked (Dept of Justice).
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Within the first 48 hours of running away, 1 in 3 young adults are lured into commercial sex exploitation.
From April 2009 – June 2012 there were 126 documented victims of sexual human trafficking in southeast LA (Rescue and Restore, South LA.
An additional 91 persons were identified as victims of labor human trafficking (Catholic Charities, N.O.)
In 2013, I had the honor to co-chair the Human Trafficking Task Force that helped identify how Louisiana can strengthen its laws. During the 2014 Legislative Session, I helped co-author a comprehensive human trafficking bill (HB1025) that was unanimously passed in both the House and the Senate.
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Louisiana started with a C Report Card by Shared Hope International in 2011 in 41 key legislative components that must be addressed in a state’s laws in order to effectively respond to the crime of domestic minor sex trafficking. I am proud to be a part of a state who is now #1 out of 3 states in the nation for having the highest score in 2014 and has continued to be among the top states maintaining an A Report card since 2014 through the current year 2019.
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Call the National Human Trafficking Hotline 888-373-7888 if you are a Victim or suspect human trafficking activity.