magicalfreddiemercury 20.03.2015 17:07 |
I saw this subject's title as a news headline, and was stunned to see this wasn't about a lawyer in... say... Uganda, but about a lawyer in California, USA. This lawyer, a Matthew McLaughlin, calls this ballot initiative proposal "The Sodomite Suppression Act". Here's just a small taste of the proposal - SODOMITE SUPPRESSION ACT Penal Code section 39 a) The abominable crime against nature known as buggery, called also sodomy, is a monstrous evil that Almighty God, giver of freedom and liberty, commands us to suppress on pain of our utter destruction even as he overthrew Sodom and Gomorrha. b) Seeing that it is better that offenders should die rather than that all of us should be killed by God's just wrath against us for the folly of tolerating-wickedness in our midst, the People of California wisely command, in the fear of God, that any person who willingly touches another person of the same gender for purposes of sexual gratification be put to death by bullets to the head or by any other convenient method. == There's much more - see link to PDF below. Apparently, for $200.00 anyone has the right to propose their own ballot initiatives. They need only garner a certain percentage of votes backing that proposal in order to get it on the next ballot. The state Attorney General has the obligation to summarize the proposal (down to 100 words) and present it to the public without prejudice. So... it looks like, no matter how disgusting this proposal is, it might actually have the chance to be voted on by the public. It will never become law, because it's clearly unconstitutional, but that it will get as far as a summary by the attorney general and a public vote is incredibly shocking to me, not to mention disturbing. Here's just one article about the proposal - honestly, when I first read it, I kept thinking I'd somehow clicked on The Onion: link And here's the proposal itself - link This isn't the first time this guy has tried to get legislation passed. Years ago, (2004) he proposed another ballot initiative (which didn't receive enough votes so it went nowhere). That one was about having the King James bible used as a textbook in all California public schools, for students in grades 1 through 12. There's now a petition on Change.org to have him disbarred, but it's been said by several legal experts that this latest proposal, while immoral, might not rise to the level of unethical. ???? The petition is here if you're interested - link |
*goodco* 21.03.2015 09:19 |
Well, it does need 366,000 signatures from registered California voters before it can be on the ballot. I can just envision the five people he'll get canvassing neighborhoods, or setting up booths, trying to get that task accomplished. I'd like to see someone go around and get 366,000 signatures for a proposal to kill anyone who signs the petition in favor of the afore mentioned proposal. Or for those spit on sidewalks. Or jaywalk. Or who play baseball or hockey or watch NASCAR or wear nonmatching clothes or own a cat or dog. |
The King Of Rhye 21.03.2015 12:23 |
What, did April Fool's Day come early this year?? Geez.......how'd this guy become a lawyer.......... |
thomasquinn 32989 21.03.2015 13:25 |
http://metro.co.uk/2015/03/17/oklahoma-is-banning-atheists-from-getting-married-5107328/ This bill was actually proposed by a congressman, and the House of Oklahoma passed it! Despite the fact that it is evidently unconstitutional by restricting marriage on religious grounds. The Republicans are so f***ing crazy that I honestly feel they are a threat to the whole of the civilized world. The religious right is an evil that differs from ISIS only in that it has not, yet, resorted to mass violence, but it is trying to change the law so that it can get away with just that. |
BETA215 21.03.2015 16:19 |
I sometimes wish he had never been born at all. |
Saint Jiub 21.03.2015 20:18 |
thomasquinn 32989 wrote: http://metro.co.uk/2015/03/17/oklahoma-is-banning-atheists-from-getting-married-5107328/ This bill was actually proposed by a congressman, and the House of Oklahoma passed it! Despite the fact that it is evidently unconstitutional by restricting marriage on religious grounds. The Republicans are so f***ing crazy that I honestly feel they are a threat to the whole of the civilized world. The religious right is an evil that differs from ISIS only in that it has not, yet, resorted to mass violence, but it is trying to change the law so that it can get away with just that. ... The religious right is trying to change the law to legalize mass violence? How so? |
Sebastian 22.03.2015 04:42 |
I oppose death penalty in any of its forms. Having said that, it'd be nice to legalise some whacking of homophobic lawyers. |
thomasquinn 32989 22.03.2015 06:38 |
Panchgani wrote:thomasquinn 32989 wrote: http://metro.co.uk/2015/03/17/oklahoma-is-banning-atheists-from-getting-married-5107328/ This bill was actually proposed by a congressman, and the House of Oklahoma passed it! Despite the fact that it is evidently unconstitutional by restricting marriage on religious grounds. The Republicans are so f***ing crazy that I honestly feel they are a threat to the whole of the civilized world. The religious right is an evil that differs from ISIS only in that it has not, yet, resorted to mass violence, but it is trying to change the law so that it can get away with just that. ...The religious right is trying to change the law to legalize mass violence? How so? 1) Stand-your-ground laws 2) 'pre-emptive self defense' laws, whatever the hell that's suppossed to be 3) Redesignating the murder of abortion doctors as justifiable homicide (http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/south-dakota-hb-1171-legalize-killing-abortion-providers) Why am I not surprised that you come trolling in defense of the far right? |
magicalfreddiemercury 22.03.2015 08:03 |
*goodco* wrote: Well, it does need 366,000 signatures from registered California voters before it can be on the ballot. I can just envision the five people he'll get canvassing neighborhoods, or setting up booths, trying to get that task accomplished.True, and because of the number of signatures needed, the chance of it reaching the ballot is nil, but that it's allowed to go forward is insane, IMO. I get the free speech angle of this, but how can a call to cull a certain group of people be legal or covered under free speech? Sick. The state attorney general should have the right to reject this for its call to do harm and for its clear attempt to blend religious insanity into law. *goodco* wrote: I'd like to see someone go around and get 366,000 signatures for a proposal to kill anyone who signs the petition in favor of the afore mentioned proposal. Or for those spit on sidewalks. Or jaywalk. Or who play baseball or hockey or watch NASCAR or wear nonmatching clothes or own a cat or dog.My thoughts exactly. |
magicalfreddiemercury 22.03.2015 08:04 |
thomasquinn 32989 wrote: http://metro.co.uk/2015/03/17/oklahoma-is-banning-atheists-from-getting-married-5107328/ This bill was actually proposed by a congressman, and the House of Oklahoma passed it! Despite the fact that it is evidently unconstitutional by restricting marriage on religious grounds.It was proposed and passed by ELECTED representatives. That's the terrifying part of this. These people aren't acting in a vacuum. They were sent there to do a job by people who either knew their agenda or didn't take time to learn about it, and since we haven't heard of any outrage from constituents, it's safe to say they support this. |
Saint Jiub 22.03.2015 14:25 |
thomasquinn 32989 wrote:I might see the above as attempting to legalize violence, but I fail to see how the above links qualify as the mass violence you consider to be comparable to ISIS.Panchgani wrote:1) Stand-your-ground laws 2) 'pre-emptive self defense' laws, whatever the hell that's suppossed to be 3) Redesignating the murder of abortion doctors as justifiable homicide (http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/south-dakota-hb-1171-legalize-killing-abortion-providers) Why am I not surprised that you come trolling in defense of the far right?thomasquinn 32989 wrote: http://metro.co.uk/2015/03/17/oklahoma-is-banning-atheists-from-getting-married-5107328/ This bill was actually proposed by a congressman, and the House of Oklahoma passed it! Despite the fact that it is evidently unconstitutional by restricting marriage on religious grounds. The Republicans are so f***ing crazy that I honestly feel they are a threat to the whole of the civilized world. The religious right is an evil that differs from ISIS only in that it has not, yet, resorted to mass violence, but it is trying to change the law so that it can get away with just that. ...The religious right is trying to change the law to legalize mass violence? How so? I am not surprised that you use hyperbole to demonize all Republicans. It might surprise you, I do not support the any of your above three links. I consider myself a moderate Republican, and despise the religious right and the Tea Party. |
brENsKi 24.03.2015 09:06 |
Panchgani wrote: I consider myself a moderate Republican, and despise the religious right and the Tea Party.you despise and disagree with everyone and anything - just for disagreement's sake |
The Real Wizard 24.03.2015 10:46 |
Panchgani wrote: I consider myself a moderate RepublicanGood luck with that. There are no more moderate Republicans with a shred of power. The party has been taken over by religious zealots with a complete disregard for virtually everything that has made our species flourish. But that's what happens when you're owned by big oil, Wall Street, Israel, the NRA and the military industrial complex. link Even slightly aligning yourself with these people by voting for a Republican makes you part of the problem. |
magicalfreddiemercury 25.03.2015 07:35 |
The Real Wizard wrote: There are no more moderate Republicans with a shred of power. The party has been taken over by religious zealots with a complete disregard for virtually everything that has made our species flourish...They have a twisted I-know-what-god-would-want agenda and are doing their damnedest to shove that agenda into law everywhere they've taken control - from denying climate change to denying basic reproductive rights to calling for the rounding up of gays. We have representatives saying homosexuals should be fenced in somewhere*… that we’d drop food down to them and with them all contained, once they die out, there won’t be any more of them. Others say women should hold an aspirin between their knees if they want to avoid getting pregnant, or that women should swallow a camera-pill so gynecologists can check their lady-parts remotely - because, you know, when a woman swallows something it lands right in her hoo-ha, in fact, that's how babies are made... more reason to watch what you eat. We have other religious fucking wackos saying abortion from rape doesn't need to be an exemption to an all-out abortion ban because when women go to the ER after a rape, doctors have "ways to clean all that out". WTF? It's the pervasiveness of this disgusting ignorance based on religious doctrine that's created an environment for greater and more disturbing restrictions to be placed on the average person - follower or not. These idiots are so wrapped in their own pathetically dark little righteous world that they even passed legislation banning sharia law, which isn't an issue, yet have accepted/ignored/voted-for christian "laws" which are slowly and steadily being insinuated into actual law. Constitutionality be damned. It would be interesting to see how many signatures this "sodomite suppression act" would receive in Mississippi or Texas or Alabama vs. even the most conservative area of California. That it can even get that far - gathering signatures as if it's a legitimate piece of legislation - is despicable. But the tone has been set and it’s freaking dark and depressing. EDIT *my mistake - it wasn't an elected representative who said this about corralling homosexuals (within an electrified fence, no less), it was a baptist minister. |
The King Of Rhye 25.03.2015 13:58 |
brENsKi wrote:I despise and disagree with your despising and disagreeing of Panchgani's despising and disagreeing! lolPanchgani wrote: I consider myself a moderate Republican, and despise the religious right and the Tea Party.you despise and disagree with everyone and anything - just for disagreement's sake "Whatever it is, I'm against it" - Groucho Marx |
The Real Wizard 26.03.2015 08:54 |
magicalfreddiemercury wrote:It would be interesting to see how many signatures this "sodomite suppression act" would receive in Mississippi or Texas or Alabama vs. even the most conservative area of California. That it can even get that far - gathering signatures as if it's a legitimate piece of legislation - is despicable. But the tone has been set and it’s freaking dark and depressing.And that's precisely why these politicians speak as they do - they're simply playing to their bases. There is no developed country (I hesitate to use that term to describe America, but I digress) with an electorate as proudly bigoted and ignorant as the majority of Americans. Politicians know exactly what they can get away with. That Todd Akin and Paul Ryan partnered up to coin the term "legitimate rape" and that there is even a remote chance that the Republicans could get into power spells out everything that is wrong with America. And let me add that the democrats aren't much better. They, too, fall over to the corporate lobby, since many of the big companies provide them with their campaign finances as well. Campaign contributions are now limitless. And just when there was hope that science was in good hands with Obama, now that the Republicans control both the house and senate, a bill was passed preventing scientists from advising the EPA. The country is just plain doomed. |
magicalfreddiemercury 26.03.2015 10:23 |
The Real Wizard wrote: And that's precisely why these politicians speak as they do - they're simply playing to their bases. There is no developed country (I hesitate to use that term to describe America, but I digress) with an electorate as proudly bigoted and ignorant as the majority of Americans. Politicians know exactly what they can get away with. That Todd Akin and Paul Ryan partnered up to coin the term "legitimate rape" and that there is even a remote chance that the Republicans could get into power spells out everything that is wrong with America. And let me add that the democrats aren't much better. They, too, fall over to the corporate lobby, since many of the big companies provide them with their campaign finances as well. Campaign contributions are now limitless. And just when there was hope that science was in good hands with Obama, now that the Republicans control both the house and senate, a bill was passed preventing scientists from advising the EPA. The country is just plain doomed.True - both parties are bought and controlled. No question there. I think what many of us do, sadly, is check to see who's doing the buying before we vote. The bill about the scientists won't become law. Obama would veto it. But you're right, just like the initiative I started this thread with, when something of that nature can gain traction, it's a sure sign of how dangerous things are. btw - Quality of "development" is often a matter of opinion. Think Marilyn Monroe. That's quality development. Then think Mama Honey Boo-boo. There's something for everyone. Which is both wonderful and terrifying. So it goes for the USA - a country I happen to love, btw, despite the many idiots who inhabit it. And we're only doomed when we stop fighting for it, which is something I, at least, will never do. |
magicalfreddiemercury 27.03.2015 07:59 |
How about an update? The state attorney general has asked the court for a special exemption in filing this initiative. If they grant it, this is over, for now. If they don't, then this guy can start trying to collect signatures to have his initiative put on the ballot. Meanwhile, another Californian has proposed her own initiative in answer to this one. She calls it The Intolerant Jackass Act, and here's one part of it: c) Any person, herein known as an "Intolerant Jackass," who brings forth a ballot measure that suggests the killing of gays and/or lesbians, whether this measure is called the Sodomite Suppression Act or is known by some other name, shall be required to attend sensitivity training for at least three (3) hours per month for twelve (12) consecutive months. In addition, the offender or "Intolerant Jackass" must donate $5000 to a pro-gay or pro-lesbian organization. == More on that here if you're interested... bring popcorn... link |
*goodco* 27.03.2015 09:03 |
And now, Indiana's governor has approved a bill for 'religious freedom'. In other words, it is OK for an individual to refuse service to a LGBTindividual on 'moral' grounds. Or, more precisely, discriminate. Hate and bigotry and small mindedness are still flourishing in the 'land of the free'. Immoral behavior is condoned, as long as it is wrapped in fantasy. |
magicalfreddiemercury 27.03.2015 10:31 |
*goodco* wrote: Immoral behavior is condoned, as long as it is wrapped in fantasy.Spot on! There is a bright side, though. Not only are businesses threatening to leave Indiana, but the Disciples of Christ denomination has threatened to take its planned gathering elsewhere - which could cost the state $6 million in revenue. Granted, the gathering isn't until 2017, but the threat to leave is a good start, IMO. |
Doga 27.03.2015 14:11 |
Damm, people can be twisted. But if you ask me, it looks like a moron trying to get publicity over him. |
magicalfreddiemercury 28.03.2015 05:16 |
Doga wrote: Damm, people can be twisted. But if you ask me, it looks like a moron trying to get publicity over him.Twisted is right, but this guy isn't so much an attention whore as yet another religious fanatic eager to force his beliefs on everyone else, regardless what beliefs, if any, everyone else holds. We're seeing more and more of those twisted people these days. |