ERIC EARLY: WE MUST REVERSE LAWS THAT ARE FUELING STATE CRIME WAVE
Q:
What do you feel
about current efforts to revise criminal justice reform laws like Propositions 47 and 57? What changes would you support?
A:
Propositions 47 and
57 should be repealed. I will support referendums, among other efforts, to do just that. Proposition 47 allows people to steal up to $950 on each occurrence with no punishment (given that virtually no one prosecutes misdemeanors). Proposition 47 also did away with powerful incentives to get drug abusers to agree to obtain treatment. Proposition 57 has lead to the emptying of our prisons. Regardless of the purported “data” being touted by the current group of statewide elected officials, both of these propositions have led to an explosion in crime statewide and have contributed to the homelessness epidemic.
Q:
Crime is up statewide, creating debate over whether California should be more harsh or more lenient on people charged with crimes. What, if anything, should the attorney general do about the surge in crime?
A:
As attorney general, I
will do everything possible to make sure that criminals know that crime no longer pays in California. We must be more harsh with criminals, period. Our first obligation as elected officials is to protect California’s law-abiding citizens of every race, creed and color. That is exactly what I will do. I will fight to issue cash bail again. I will work to repeal Propositions 47 and 57. I will work to lock the prison cells up again and to build more prison beds if needed. I will work to enact my plan to remove the homeless from our streets. I will support our brave men and women of law enforcement.
Q:
California has taken several steps in recent years to crack down on police abuses. Are there any
additional measures you think are needed?
A:
I will openly and regularly support our brave men and women of law enforcement. They have our backs every day, and our elected officials must have their backs. With respect to a tiny fraction of “bad cops,” I will support efforts to permanently remove them from the force. Frankly, the police unions must be convinced to stop working to keep the “bad cops” employed. No one dislikes the “bad cops” more than the 98 percent to 99 percent of our good cops.
Q:California has the strictest gun laws in the nation yet has had some of the nation’s worst mass shootings this year. What, if anything, can the attorney general be doing to reduce gun violence in California? A:
The gun violence we
have witnessed is because of systemic failures in our criminal justice system and not because of our Second Amendment rights. By way of but one example, one of the alleged shooters in the recent Sacramento massacre by the name of Smiley Martin was only on the streets because of California’s watering down of “good time” credits. But for the changes in Martin’s “good time” credits, he would have still been behind bars at the time of the shooting. I will do everything possible to strengthen those laws to make sure the killers remain behind bars for as long as possible. Unfortunately, regardless of the gun laws in place, the criminals will always be able to get guns. And it is imperative that our law-abiding citizens be able to arm themselves to protect themselves and their families in this criminals’ paradise that California has become.
Q:
Gov. Gavin Newsom
has endorsed California adopting a gun control law modeled on Texas’ abortion law, which allows people to sue those who help women get abortions. Do you support a law allowing Californians to file lawsuits like this over gun-related issues or not, and why?
A:
I do not support Newsom’s proposed gun control laws in this regard. If they ever actually become law, I believe they will be unconstitutional, and I will charge attorneys in the California Department of Justice to review whether they are constitutional or not. Both of the pending bills supported by Newsom are attempted end runs around Californians’ constitutional rights, among other legal violations.
Q:
The climate emergency is worsening in
California. Should the attorney general play more of a role to make local governments live up to laws they enacted to reduce emissions and the threat of global warming?
A:
The attorney general
enforces constitutional laws, whether the attorney general agrees with them or not.
Q:
The Attorney General’s Office has called out cities like Huntington Beach and Encinitas for not following state law related to housing construction. How aggressive would you be on this front?
A:
The underlying basis
for what the present attorney general is doing in this regard are Senate Bills 9 and 10. I believe that one or both of these bills may be unconstitutional, and intend to take a very close look at that issue as attorney general. The bottom line — the attorney general enforces constitutional laws whether he or she likes them or not. Unconstitutional laws are another matter.