Conservative Attacks on Leno Baseless

Conservatives have long attacked San Francisco’s public officials as paragons of evil, for everything from their social liberalism to their adamant opposition to war. But the recent attacks on Assemblyman Mark Leno in blogs and op-ed pages across the country goes beyond the pale, both because of the level of vitriol within them and the deep misrepresentation of what Leno hoped to accomplish with the bill that prompted the outrage. AB 50, the source of the conflict, would strengthen protections against child abuse, representing a compassionate, common-sense way to improve upon previous protection laws for children. Yet Republicans see political gain in linking a gay legislator to sexual predators, and would rather demonize Leno than pass effective legislation to protect kids.