Activists Seek Umberg Backing : Lobbying: About 120 people rally to pressure the Garden Grove assemblyman to vote for an anti-pornography measure.

Activists who favor a law to protect older teen-agers from being legally depicted in pornographic material rallied Tuesday to pressure Assemblyman Tom Umberg (D-Garden Grove) to support the measure, only to find out that he had already decided to vote for it.

The Sexually Exploited Children’s Act would define child pornography as sexually explicit material showing anyone under 18, rather than 14 as state law now stands. Umberg voted in favor of the bill in Sacramento today, helping it pass through the Assembly Public Safety Committee 5-0.

Before the vote, however, 120 people, some of whom represented Orange County civil and religious organizations, went to Umberg’s office here carrying balloons and signs, unaware of his impending support.

A sign carried by 8-year-old William Silvey of Orange summed up the crowd’s sentiment. The handmade placard, lettered in crayon, said: “Stop Nasty Pictures of Teen-agers.”

Those who went inside Umberg’s office got a letter from him saying that he intended “to vote today in the Assembly Public Safety Committee” for the bill. The letter called it “probably the most comprehensive bill on the subject to be introduced this legislature session.”

Many attendees were critical of Umberg, the only Democrat in Orange County, for abstaining when an earlier version was voted on in the committee in April. His change of mind came as news to many at the rally.

“We hadn’t gotten word that he had changed his mind” until the rally had begun, said Verna Seidlitz of Anaheim, who like other people felt his decision to support the bill was a result of their pressure. Umberg knew ahead of time there would be a rally, she said, which gave him time to consider the feelings of the community and alter his vote.

But Umberg’s office insisted the rally did not influence his position. He had abstained in April because an earlier version of the bill made child pornography a felony; since then the language has been changed, keeping it a misdemeanor--which carries a less serious penalty, said Umberg’s chief of staff, George Urch. Umberg’s decision to support the bill was based solely on that change, he added.

Nonetheless, some protesters questioned the motives of Umberg, who is an expected candidate for state attorney general and has been pushing several public safety bills to represent himself as one of the Democratic Party’s key crime fighters. Rosemarie Avila, a speaker at the rally and a trustee of the Santa Ana Unified School District, wanted to know why it took a public outcry during an election year to influence his vote.

The bill goes next to the Ways and Means Committee for approval.