Circumcision Ban On San Francisco Ballot

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An initiative that would ban male circumcision in San Francisco officially made the ballot today. It was written by a San Diego-based nonprofit group, MGMbill.org (MGM=Male Genital Mutilation), and promoted by a flamboyant group of “intactivists” who’ve marched in the city’s gay pride parades (left). Though circumcision is less common today than it was ten years ago, leaders of the city’s Jewish community oppose the ban as a violation of religious freedom. Here’s a piece that I wrote a few months ago about why people on both sides of the issue are getting snippy.