Calif. Bans Circumcision Bans

The state of California has snipped San Francisco's uppity bid to erect a ban on circumcision. Any such ban is now banned in a law signed by Gov. Jerry Brown. Ban backers had collected nearly 8,000 signatures to put the measure to a vote in the city in November, arguing that circumcision is unnecessary surgery that can be dangerous. The issue was pretty much moot, even before the new state law, because a judge had already blocked the ballot measure that stirred controversy among Jews, Muslims, and many in the medical community. The state law was introduced by Democratic Assemblyman Mike Gatto, who told the Los Angeles Times that the measure, signed yesterday, would "protect parental rights and liberties." (More Jerry Brown stories.)