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New Law Would Ban Banning of Circumcision
Photo by andysternberg via the LAist Featured Photos pool
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 In San Fran, the initiative gained enough signatures to go before voters, but was withdrawn from the ballot in Santa Monica.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.
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