First there was the introduction of gender fluid and LGBT ideology into public schools, then there were sexualized drag queen performances for children, then leftist activists demanded that pedophiles be referred to as “MAPS” (Minor Attracted Persons) because “they can’t help who they are attracted to,” then California passed a law reducing charges for adults engaged in sexual relations with minors.

Now, the German Parliament has forwarded a bill that makes possession and distribution of child pornography a misdemeanor instead of a felony, greatly reducing diminishing possible penalties.

German officials claim the new law is meant to address inconsistencies in previous child pornography laws which are sometimes applied to people who “receive images or videos through email or social media without their permission.” They also cited instances where two minors traded images and were charged with creation or possession of child pornography.

Critics of the bill argue that the German government could have easily made legal adjustments for those specific exceptions to avoid innocent people being wrongly imprisoned. Instead, they are trying to institute sweeping changes that reclassify the crime and give greater legal protections to an array of child predators. The new law does not make exceptions for adult offenders.

According to the Bundestag (Parliament), the bill stipulates that “possession and acquisition should be punishable with a minimum penalty of three months’ imprisonment, and distribution with a minimum penalty of six months’ imprisonment, and distribution with a minimum penalty of six months’ imprisonment. The offenses regulated in Section 184b of the Criminal Code are therefore classified as misdemeanors and not as crimes.”