Thu Apr 7, 2022 – 5:34 pm EDT
WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) — Democrat U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois on Tuesday blocked a measure introduced by Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri that would require judges to impose tougher sentences on child pornography offenders.
In a Tuesday press release, Hawley’s office stated that after the Missouri Republican went to the Senate floor “to call for unanimous consent to pass” the bill, Durbin “objected and blocked the bill from passing.”
Prior to Durbin’s objection, Hawley explained he was asking for a vote on the bill because “child sex trafficking is an exploding epidemic in my state, and around our country.”
Arguing that it “is shameful” that “the Senate hasn’t acted until now,” Hawley said he is not “willing to sit by and tell the parents of my state that I did nothing. I am not willing to dismiss child exploitation as just some conspiracy theory. I am not willing to abandon the victims of this crime.”
In an April 5 tweet, the Republican senator said Durbin had dismissed the child pornography “crisis” as a “conspiracy theory.”
“And that tells you everything you need to know,” Hawley added.
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