Tangipa Shares Personal Stories When Calling For Human Trafficking Awareness
Sacramento, CA — The California Assembly on Monday voted to recognize January as National Human Trafficking Awareness Month.
Mother Lode Republican Assemblyman David Tangipa spoke in favor of the measure (ACR-9) and shared some personal experiences.
On the Assembly floor, he stated, “I think about the victims, and survivors, and the families who have gone through this. I think about my family member who was trafficked at 14 years old, by a former teammate of mine, less than five miles away from these steps.”
Tangipa added that he heard several personal stories yesterday, and expressed how hard it must have been for the victims, and added that he can relate to them.
Tangipa went on to state, “I grew up less than five miles away from here, off of Watt Avenue and A Street, one of the most trafficked areas in the State of California, where I saw it every day. I worked at a McDonalds, off of Watt and Myrtle, where I witnessed my high school classmates trafficked. I got to see it, and I read about legislators who would get caught on Watt Avenue, and would partake in it. I hope that we all stand today in support of ACR-9 to realize that awareness is needed now, more than ever. But also, action is needed by us, here, to protect those less than five miles away.”
The bill, to raise awareness about human trafficking, was easily approved in the Assembly and now moves to the Senate for consideration. Tangipa is one of the co-authors. His Assembly District 8 covers the Mother Lode counties, along with parts of Fresno County, and other neighboring valley communities.
