A python function to convert a localized timestamp to epoch / unix time

localized_time_to_epoch.py

from dateutil import parser
from pytz import timezone 
from datetime import datetime
import time


def localized_time_to_epoch(timestamp, time_zone):
  strptime = "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S"
  timestamp = parser.parse(timestamp)
  localize = timezone(timezone).localize(datetime.strptime(str(timestamp), strptime))
  utc = localize.astimezone(timezone('UTC')).strftime(strptime)
  return int(time.mktime(time.strptime(utc, strptime)))