California's attorney general seeks to kill initiative that calls for shooting gay people

Mary Bruno

Mary Bruno Jul 5, 2025

Feb 6, 2018

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                <h1>California's attorney general seeks to kill initiative that calls for shooting gay people</h1>
                <h2><p>The Guardian is reporting that California attorney general Kamala Harris will go to court in an effort to stop the Sodomite Suppression Act. The proposed ballot initiative filed last week by Huntington Beach attorney Matt McLaughlin includes a clause suggesting that “any person who willingly touches another person of the</p></h2>
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               <p>By <a href="/author/mary-bruno-crosscut-com/">Mary Bruno</a></p> 
              <p><time datetime="2025-02-04T05:00:00-08:00">Feb 6, 2018</time></p>
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            <p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/25/california-kamala-harris-asks-judge-halt-shoot-the-gays-initiative?ref=dev.cascadepbs.org">The Guardian is reporting</a> that California attorney general Kamala Harris will go to court in an effort to stop the Sodomite Suppression Act. The proposed ballot initiative filed last week by Huntington Beach attorney Matt McLaughlin includes a clause suggesting 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.”</p><p>Supporters need 365,880 signatures to put the Sodomite Suppression Act on the November 2016 ballot. The "attorney general does not have the administrative authority to kill the proposal on her own,"" writes <em>The Guardian</em>. "She does, however, have the right to ask a judge to do it." It's unclear how the court would rule.</p>
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The Guardian is reporting that California attorney general Kamala Harris will go to court in an effort to stop the Sodomite Suppression Act. The proposed ballot initiative filed last week by Huntington Beach attorney Matt McLaughlin includes a clause suggesting 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.”

Supporters need 365,880 signatures to put the Sodomite Suppression Act on the November 2016 ballot. The "attorney general does not have the administrative authority to kill the proposal on her own,"" writes The Guardian. "She does, however, have the right to ask a judge to do it." It's unclear how the court would rule.

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By Mary Bruno

Mary was Crosscut's Editor-in-Chief and Interim Publisher. In more than 25 years as a journalist, she has worked as a writer, editor and editorial director for a variety of print and web publications,