Last Member Drive of 2025!

Your year-end tax-deductible gift powers our local newsroom. Help raise $1 million in essential funding for LAist by December 31.
$881,541 of $1,000,000 goal
A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right
Audience-funded nonprofit news
radio tower icon laist logo
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Subscribe
  • Listen Now Playing Listen

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

News

New Law Would Ban Banning of Circumcision

circumcision3.jpg
Photo by andysternberg via the LAist Featured Photos pool

Truth matters. Community matters. Your support makes both possible. LAist is one of the few places where news remains independent and free from political and corporate influence. Stand up for truth and for LAist. Make your year-end tax-deductible gift now.

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 In San Fran, the initiative gained enough signatures to go before voters, but was withdrawn from the ballot in Santa Monica.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.

You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.

Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.

If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.

Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief

Make your tax-deductible year-end gift today

A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right