Judge Dismisses Circumcision Ban from SF Ballot

AP

The campaign to ban circumcision took an ugly anti-Semitic turn with the publishing of ‘The Foreskin Man’ comic book.

A San Francisco judge said Wednesday she intends to strike a ban on male circumcision from the city’s November ballot.

Superior Court Judge Loretta Giorgi said in a tentative ruling that the proposed law prohibiting circumcision of male children violates a California law that makes regulating medical procedures a function of the state, not cities.

“It serves no legitimate purpose to allow a measure whose invalidity can be determined as a matter of law to remain on the ballot,” Giorgi wrote.

Giorgi ordered San Francisco’s elections director to remove the controversial measure from the ballot that would have made the city the first in the nation to hold a public vote on whether to outlaw the circumcision of minors.

The citizens’ initiative, which made the ballot in May after supporters gathered the required 7,163 signatures, would have made the practice a misdemeanor offense punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 or up to one year in jail.

The initiative did not offer exemptions for religious rituals such as the Jewish bris or Muslim khitan.

The San Francisco city attorney’s office, which had joined several Jewish organizations in challenging the ban in court, said Giorgi plans to hear arguments on the issue Thursday before making her ruling final.

The ban’s sponsor, anti-circumcision activist Lloyd Schofield, did not immediately respond to a telephone call and email from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Backers had argued the ban was necessary to prevent a form of genital mutilation from being forced on children.

Critics contended the initiative posed a threat to constitutionally protected religious freedoms and cited comic books and trading cards distributed by the measure’s proponents that carried images of a blonde, blue-eyed superhero and four evil Jewish characters.

Though state law prohibits cities and counties from regulating medical procedures, two California Assembly members have introduced a bill that would specifically pre-empt local governments from enacting laws regarding male circumcision.

4 Comments

  • SICKENING NAUSEATING LIBERALS

    The sickening, Nauseating, despicable liberals of the world, and specifically San Francisco

    They will ALWYAS ALWAYS ALWAYS have one MAIN target. Their target will ALWAYS ALWAYS be antisemitic, Israel-hating, Jew-hating and specificially hating Frum jews. Their agenda will always be to attack something from the Torah or attack jews or attack Israel,

    Six months ago, those same sickening nauseating PIECES OF FERTILIZER liberals put a referendum on the ballot to BAN ALL ISRAELI PRODUCTS FROM ALL GROCERY STORES IN SAN FRANCISCO

    Unfortunately, that vote WENT THROUGH, the government had to later overturn it. or all Israeli products would be banned from San Francisco for good.

    Because that’s what their target is and will ALWAYS ALWAYS be, – antisemitic, Israel-hating, Jew-hating and specificially hating Frum jews. Their agenda will always be to attack something from the Torah or attack jews or attack Israel,

    They will talk “nice” things. But their will ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS be nothing but HATRED and ANTI-SEMITISM, ALWAYS attacking something about Israel, the Jews, or the Torah

    Those “Cartoons” they are showing, which are exactly what the Nazis and the communist and wll the Sonei-Yisroel worldwide have been making during world war 2, an expression of filthy low HATRED to Yiddin, and to Yiddishkeit,

    Thats what those sickening nauseating PIECES OF FERTILIZER liberals have always been and thats what they are, nauseating FILTHY LOW Sonei-Yisroel

  • Anonymous

    Whoever drew that picture is simply disgusting!
    The guy behind this campaign and the people supporting it have a majore problem!

  • declasse intellectual

    This is California where the ninth court of Appeals is at and known for left wing views; and, especially San Francisco where left wingism is the standard. Nevertheless, the proposed ruling by the Judge skirts the issue of government interference into religious practice which is against the Constitution and the against the original intent of the founding fathers. I hope there is no appeal of this lower couret decision otherwise there could be problems especially if it reaches the ninth court of Appeals.