Judge strikes down proposed 'Sodomite Suppression Act'

Judge strikes down proposed 'Sodomite Suppression Act' calling for killing of gays
By Hailey Branson-Potts

Saying a proposed ballot measure calling for the killing of gay people is “patently unconstitutional on its face,” a Sacramento County judge has ruled that the state attorney general can halt the proposal.

With the judge’s ruling, the so-called Sodomite Suppression Act will not move forward to the signature-gathering phase and cannot be placed on a future ballot. The proposal, submitted by Huntington Beach attorney Matthew McLaughlin, sought to authorize the murder of gays and lesbians by “bullets to the head” or “any other convenient method.”


“This proposed act is the product of bigotry, seeks to promote violence, is patently unconstitutional and has no place in a civil society,” Atty. Gen. Kamala D. Harris said in a statement Tuesday.


Harris is required by state law to give all proposed ballot measures a formal name and summary before they advance to the signature-gathering process. Earlier this year, Harris filed an action for declaratory relief with the Sacramento County Superior Court asking the court to let her essentially ignore McLaughlin’s proposal and stop it from advancing.

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a proposed ballot measure calling for the killing of gay people is “patently unconstitutional on its face,”

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OrphanSlug said:

No shock at all, this one did not stand a chance.

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Summerwind said:

I guess I'm also shocked by the level of hatred someone must have to even propose such a thing.

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Summerwind said:

I'm just shocked that it proposed by a lawyer, you'd think he'd know better. I guess I'm also shocked by the level of hatred someone must have to even propose such a thing.

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OrphanSlug said:

Nothing to be shocked about, for clowns like Matthew McLaughlin it all boils down to religious hatred trumping whatever the hell he learned at George Mason University.

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