Lloyd Schofield, retired from a career in the hotel industry, is a man on a mission to ban circumcision from his community.
And this November, San Francisco voters may have the opportunity to vote on whether they feel the practice – often associated with religious protocol – should be banned in the city and county of San Francisco.
He and his fellow organizers have created an initiative known as the “Prohibition of Genital Cutting of Male Minors.”
Their proposal would make it illegal to circumcise “another person who has not attained the age of 18 years.”
The group has collected more than 12,000 local signatures to put the proposal on the city ballot in November 2011. They have also collected a fair share of ire from religious groups and medical experts alike.
Doctors, mohels and any other person who performs the procedure would face up to a $1,000 fine or a year of jail time.
Circumcision is an important ritual in the Jewish faith, where it is performed on 8-day-old males.
Marc Stern, associate general counsel for legal advocacy with the American Jewish Committee, said the Jewish community is “clearly appalled” by the proposal.
“This is the most direct assault on Jewish religious practice in the United States,” said Stern. “It’s unprecedented in American Jewish life.”
Stern said that the Jewish community has held strategy meetings to diminish the proposal.
“We want to erase the message that anyone else can try to take away a central ritual, practiced for centuries without harm, to make sure no one tries to replicate this,” continued Stern.
in san francisco of all places! were everything is legal
HU DOZ HE THINK HE IZ EGZACTLY?? OMG DOZ HE REALLY THINK HE COULD CHANGE SOMETHING THAT WE HAV BEEN DOING FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS?????
WELL GET LOST HUNNY JK BUT REALLY GET SERIOUSE!!!!!!
But Kedushah will always win in the long run 🙂
Hey didn’t something like this come up already in Boston?
yemach shemoy vezichroy yemach shemoy vezichroy yemach shemoy vezichroy yemach shemoy vezichroy yemach shemoy vezichroyyemach shemoy vezichroy yemach shemoy vezichroy yemach shemoy vezichroy yemach shemoy vezichroy yemach shemoy vezichroyyemach shemoy vezichroy yemach shemoy vezichroy yemach shemoy vezichroy yemach shemoy vezichroy yemach shemoy vezichroyyemach shemoy vezichroy yemach shemoy vezichroy yemach shemoy vezichroy yemach shemoy vezichroy yemach shemoy vezichroy
from abraham to moshiach we will still doing it!!!
beside all the amalek´s against us, we will still be jewish…
the amendments amendment1
it’s time to go home to eretz israel wake up yidden
what is this he is gana loos fursur u cant do something like that in amarica it is agenst religon in amarica but his officel clam is that none have the right to remmove or damig body parts but in the end he will loose
If someone wants to make something illegal, shouldn’t it be taken to court and not on the ballot? Even if a majority of voters decide to vote in favor or against a proposal does not make the proposal right. Most of the voters in the US are highly influenced by media and special interest groups, not by right or wrong .
and he is jewish on top of all…………… he cant do this!!!
It’s California….the land of fruits and nuts (mostly nuts)….no telling what they will do next. But its pretty scary. I wonder if they know that the rest of the country laughs at them??
Dont think it cannot happen!! The government attacked shchita (the Rubashkin case) without the Jewish community outcry and they can ban milah (using health concerns as their target) and the secular Jews will join the bandwagon. America is nisht andersh!!!
Where is this?
i haaaaaaaaaaaate this guy!!!
They should put him in prison!!!
Why should people go outside the city? Tell this meshugana to go live elsewhere if he is against this
I agree with comment 5; (This was before I even read his/her comment)One look on his face one can tell he is smug and pompus, he is saying this for attention, remember pride comes before a fall!!!!
I FEEL LIKE WE ARE BACK IN THE TIMES OF THE BLOOD LIBEL!!!!! THIS IS INSANE!!! THIS WILL NEVER STICK!
Do the bris outside the city if this person wins.
This seems so unconstitutional!
he’s just taking advantig cuz he wants cash
This would never hold up in court. This law, if it were to come to pass, would violate the free exercise clause of the first amendment and be tossed out immediately. Many precedents are available, notably because this would not be a general law of neutral applicability ala Employment Division v. Smith, instead it would be a targeted law like in the church of lukumi babalu case. This man and his campaign are simply a non issue.
give him a bris
I’m yirtza Hashem the result will be positive he will lose and it will be a kidush Hashem
Was he circumcised when he was born?
Hes jewish
that san francisco would do this makes sense the goal of the matter is make sure it stops there and strategizing a way that it never is repeated again elsewhere that frisco would do something like this makes sense thats not the goal the goal is that this disease is discouraged from SPREADING i would recommend take it very seriously fight it to the finish and fight it to the all bring every rabbi doctor religious expert A PRECEDENT MUST BE SET make sure there is demonstrations if that is also a way to correctly deal with the climate in… Read more »
The government can make civil laws that just happen to interfere with religious practices for public health reasons as long as it doesn’t target the religious practice …
Its time this dude got a job. Retired people often times die within the first 5 year of retirement. Maybe he will be a statistic?
to #4- that will be the next step. The constitution will never allow it.
I wonder if he’s also against the hair cutting of “another person who has not attained the age of 18 years.” After all, many regard hair as a mark of beauty…certainly with regard to girls. What parent has the right to simply have these body parts severed from the head of their child?
Barbers…a sneal preview of this guys next campaing: “Prohibition of Hair Cutting of Female Minors.”
tell this guy to get a life
You can’t perform a minor medical procedure on an infant…you’re only allowed to kill them when they disrupt your life plans.unexpectedly..
Abortions aside, which are still..yea, horrible, America would not do this, freedom of speech, and freedom of Religion are key. G-d Bless America!
When I had my baby a couple a years ago, my asian doctor came late because she was in middle of giving a non Jewish newborn a circumcision. She told me that 50 percent of the boys she delivered were given circumcisions in the hospital. And a big percentage were not religious! Many pple give their sons circumcisions regardless of race. This guys is clearly antisemetic! And those who believe in circumcision Jews as well as Non Jews must make a huge deal and not let this guy win! It would be quite scary if he does!
#5 i totally agree with
NONSENSE
I guess you can’t perform a minor medical procedure on an infant… but you’re only allowed to kill them when they disrupt your life plans.unexpectedly..
HE LOOKS SO SMUG AND PROUD OF HIMSELF. PROBABLY COMES FROM NAZI PARENTS/GRANDPARENTS. THIS IS REALLY SCARY!
Not normal….isnt this unconsitiutianla?
WHO DOES HE THINK HE IS?!?!??!?!?!
PLEASE DONT VOTE HIM!!!
May I remind you who also did this in the past?
Antiochos and Paroh, etc. HE CANNOT. THIS IS ABSURD!!!! HE doesnt even care about Jews so let us do what we want!!!! PLEASE DONT VOTE HIM.(Kinda obvious…)
This same guy is OK with people having a abortion ?…
this chutzpenyak thinks he can do this??!?!?!?!? yemach shemoy vezichroy yemach shemoy vezichroy yemach shemoy vezichroy yemach shemoy vezichroy yemach shemoy vezichroy