ACLU joins effort to quash vote on circumcision ban

[The Straight Story]

The ACLU of Northern California filed a court brief Friday supporting an effort to block a ballot measure that would ban juvenile male circumcision in San Francisco.

The friend of the court brief bolsters the arguments of a coalition of Jews and Muslims who filed suit in June asking a judge to invalidate the controversial measure headed for the Nov. 8 ballot.

The lead supporter of the circumcision ban characterizes the procedure as “genital mutilation that is unnecessary, extremely painful and even dangerous,” the Associated Press reported.

The ballot measure would make the circumcision of a male younger than 18 years old a misdemeanor carrying up to $1,000 in fines or a year in jail. There would be no religious exemption to the ban, even though Jewish and Muslim followers consider circumcision part of their religion.



http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/aclu-joins-effort-quash-vote-circumcision-ban-11534

[NightWatcher]

1. I'll buy you a beer if you change the title from "quash" to "snip"

[FreakinDJ]

2. was posted last night

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=1512803&mesg_id=1512803

[midnight]

3. I have to say that if I had a little boy, I would never allow him

to be circumcised... But some people have it done for keeping disease at bay, and not religious reasons.... This is going to be a mess....

[LAGC]

4. I'm totally aligned with the ACLU on 99% of their stances on issues, but...

...when it comes to mutilation of a baby's private parts, I'm thinking "freedom of religion" takes a back seat to common sense.

Let the children decide for themselves when they are adults. Parents shouldn't take the choice away from them when they are so helpless to resist.


(Edit: typo in subject line.)