Turning Point USA

The state of California has a number of interesting laws going into effect on January 1, 2023. One of these laws is the “Freedom to Walk Act” which will allow pedestrians to cross the street outside of crosswalks without any risk of facing a citation.

According to calbike.org, the new law will do the following:

• Decriminalize safe, commonsense street crossing, when traffic permits, whether or not a pedestrian is within a marked/unmarked crosswalk.
• Remove a pretext for over-policing that has disproportionately hurt Black and Latinx Californians.
• Recognize the rights of pedestrians to fair and equitable use of our public roadways.
• End a traffic enforcement practice that places an undue financial burden on low-income residents through fines, fees, and penalties without increasing safety.

The law stipulates that individuals may only cross the street without fear of citation if there is not “immediate danger of collision.” This means that if the roads are completely empty and you need to get across the street, you can do so without breaking any laws.

But what’s interesting about this law is that the biggest argument for its passing is that enforcement of jaywalking “disproportionately hurt Black and Latinx Californians.”

Assembly Member Phil Tang, who wrote the law, echoed this sentiment. Ting stated that, “Everybody has the freedom to walk across the street without being worried about being cited or being stopped…We see that African-Americans are five times more likely to get cited than other individuals.”

There is no evidence that jaywalking laws are inherently racist, and there is no evidence that the law is being unfairly enforced depending on the race of a culprit. But this way of thinking falls in line with the modern leftist narrative of racial inequality, and is echoed by race grifters like Ibram X. Kendi. The idea is that if any institution has a disparity in racial outcome, than the institution itself must be racist. In the left’s eyes, because more black Californians are getting jaywalking citations than White Californians, the law must be racist.

This way of thinking is incredibly naive. To ignore all other factors and say that something is racist because the outcome is disproportionate is absurd. If a Black Californian is stopped for jaywalking he is not being stopped because he is black, he is being stopped because he just broke the law.

This law change is another example of how the left cares more about equity than equality. They believe that equal outcome must be achieved in all aspects of life, no matter how small. But they do not realize that equality of outcome is impossible, and that it is ultimately up to the individual to make proper life choices.