Quantcast

New Law Would Ban Banning of Circumcision

Penises continue to stay in the spotlight, as two lawmakers have introduced a bill that would prevent municipal governments from passing laws regarding male circumcision, reports the Huffington Post.

The bill comes on the heels of ballot initiatives in both San Francisco and Santa Monica to ban circumcision on boys under the age of 18. In San Fran, the initiative gained enough signatures to go before voters, but was withdrawn from the ballot in Santa Monica.

According to HuffPo, the bill could be signed into law immediately if it passes through the Legislature.

So far, the San Francisco ballot initiative has caused a great deal of debate. A comic published by a major supporter of the bill, called "Foreskin Man," appeared to be anti-Semitic for featuring evil-looking Jewish villians like Monster Mohel (a mohel is the person in Jewish culture who is trained to perform circumcisions, known as a bris). The publisher, Matthew Hess, has insisted that his efforts to ban circumcision have nothing to do with religion.

The initiative that started in Santa Monica was ultimately pulled by it's proponents after accusations of religious bigotry began to gain traction.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@laist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

Comments [rss]

  • Sullivan131

    I understand if people in the Jewish community are upset about the proposed ban, but not everyone circumcises for religious reasons.

    Some do it just cause their dumb doctor said it was probably better for him in the long run. Circumcision is barbaric... cutting off a piece of a baby's penis makes no sense to me whatsoever. I don't care that its what people did in the past...its in the past. Were in the 21st century now. Circumcision should only be practiced if the boy needs it for medical reason. If the boy is born with a perfectly functioning penis then why on earth would we mutilate it???

  • khagler

    I can't say I'm impressed with the opposition to these proposed bans. Are we next going to make it legal to burn people at the stake so that Christians aren't offended by laws discriminating against their religious practices?

blog comments powered by Disqus

send a tip

tips@laist.com