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NEWS
San Francisco Court Cancels Bris Referendum
By R. Hoffner
A San Francisco court canceled a referendum on an unprecedented ballot measure to impose a ban on bris miloh for babies. The court accepted the argument that the proposed measure violates California state law. In her interim decision, Judge Loretta Giorgi said the ban would contradict a state law that makes medical procedures subject to state authorities, not local authorities. San Francisco residents cannot introduce a decision that infringes on the state's authority, she ruled. Bris miloh is one of the core mitzvos of the Jewish religion.
Giorgi instructed the San Francisco election chairman to remove the measure from the ballot. The controversial proposal would have made the city the first place in the U.S. to hold a vote on the legality of bris miloh performed on minors.
The provocative law, which would have been one of a number of ballot measures San Francisco residents will vote on in the November elections, would have prohibited circumcision of boys under the age of 18, with a provision to slap violators with a $1,000 fine or a one-year jail sentence.
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