Judge Shoots Down 'Kill the Gays' Bill

Calif. measure a waste of resources, judge decides
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 24, 2015 3:42 AM CDT
Judge Shoots Down 'Kill the Gays' Bill
A man waves a rainbow flag during the annual Gay Pride Parade in Tel Aviv.   (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

There's no need for California to waste any more time or energy on a ballot measure that proposes legalizing the murder of gay people, a judge has decided. The Sacramento County judge ruled yesterday that allowing the "Sodomite Suppression Act" to move forward "would be inappropriate, waste public resources, generate unnecessary divisions among the public, and tend to mislead the electorate," meaning that it will not progress to the signature-gathering phase or end up on any future ballots, reports the Los Angeles Times. It was sponsored by lawyer Matthew McLaughlin, who has declined to speak to the media about it.

Calif. AG Kamala Harris, who says the proposed act "is the product of bigotry, seeks to promote violence, is patently unconstitutional, and has no place in a civil society," had sought the ruling, the AP reports. Harris says she will "continue to fight for the rights of all Californians to live free from hatred and intolerance," reports the Times, which notes that McLaughlin only had to pay a $200 fee to register his disturbing ballot measure, but would have needed to collect 365,000 signatures in 180 days to get it on the ballot. (Under the proposed "Intolerant Jackass Act," McLaughlin will have to pay a hefty fine.)

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