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Petition filed for anti-circumcision measure in Santa Monica

May 23, 2011

(JTA) -- An anti-circumcision group will circulate a petition in Santa Monica, Calif., to place a measure seeking to ban male circumcision on an upcoming ballot.

A Notice of Intent to Circulate a Petition, proposing a ballot initiative prohibiting “Genital Cutting of Male Minors” for the November ballot in Santa Monica, was filed with the city, the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles reported. The filing comes on the heels of an anti-circumcision measure approved for the November ballot by San Francisco city officials last week.  

The text of Santa Monica's proposed initiative is identical to the one that will appear on the San Francisco ballot, according to the Jewish Journal.

The measure makes it a misdemeanor crime to circumcise a boy in Santa Monica before he is 18 years old. The maximum penalty would be a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. Circumcisions would be permitted only for medical reasons, with no religious exemptions.

Santa Monica, which has a population of 90,000, has two hospitals and six synagogues, according to the Firedoglake online news site.

Jewish boys traditionally are circumcised at eight days of age and Muslims at some time during boyhood.

The group MGMBill.org, which stands for Male Genital Mutilation, reportedly is behind the initiative.
 

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