California Attorney General Kamala Harris said on Wednesday that she would try to scuttle a proposed ballot initiative mandating the execution of gay people.
“The Sodomite Suppression Act,” submitted by Orange County lawyer Matthew Gregory McLaughlin on Feb. 26, would legalize the killing of homosexuals via “a bullet to the head.”
While normal protocol would require Harris to review and summarize the potential ballot measure within 30 days, said she would be seeking authority from the Supreme Court to abort the measure.
“This proposal not only threatens public safety, it is patently unconstitutional, utterly reprehensible, and has no place in a civil society,” she said. “Today, I am filing an action for declaratory relief with the Court seeking judicial authorization for relief from the duty to prepare and issue the title and summary for the ‘Sodomite Suppression Act.'”
“If the Court does not grant this relief, my office will be forced to issue a title and summary for a proposal that seeks to legalize discrimination and vigilantism.”
Legal experts have said that the attorney general will likely be forced to rubber stamp the initiative and allow circulation.
In order for it to appear on a ballot, however, McLaughlin would have to collect more than 365,000 signatures from Californian citizens. Even then, experts said the State Supreme Court would most likely quash the self-evidently unconstitutional measure.
What kind of human being would go out to collect signatures for something as patently unconstitutional and utterly reprehensible as this proposal? Whoever that person collecting signatures would be: put them on a terrorist watch list across the nation, revoke their passports, deny them the right to fly, and cancel all state and federal financial aid and subsidized health insurance to them forever. Orange County lawyer Matthew Gregory McLaughlin should lose his license to practice law tomorrow.
The same question should be asked about anyone who would sign such a petition. Remember, that signatures on an initiative petition must be accompanied by the signer’s full name and residence address, and the signed petitions become public documents.
Regarding the contention this is a free speech issue, my answer is this is a ballot initiative process for potential laws, not necessarily a venue for “free speech,” per se. Take out an ad or wear a billboard just like those few nutty people do in nearly every downtown of California’s big cities or down at the bus stop, etc.
If I cannot make threats or yell “Fire” in a crowded theater, there is absolutely no reason to think the proper authorities–in this case, Kamala Harris–can’t put the kibosh on something like this.
You know, even if you didn’t like gays, thought they were an abomination, whatever… isn’t proposing making it legal to kill them a much bigger sin?
These people are sick.
It doesn’t make sense that they would have to put something on the ballot requiring illegal activity such as (in this case) murder. Are they saying that if I move to CA and propose a ballot measure requiring people to rob liquor stores on their way home from work on the first business day of every month, all I have to do is get the right number of signatures and it goes on the ballot? Well past time to re-write the law if that’s the case.