'Intolerant Jackass Act' Proponents Can Begin Collecting Sigs

By Bay City News Service

While the status of a “Sodomite Suppression Act” proposed state ballot initiative remains in limbo, proponents of a rival “Intolerant Jackass Act” initiative were cleared by state Secretary of State Alex Padilla to begin collecting signatures.

The rival initiative would force the filer of the Sodomite Suppression Act or any similar initiative to attend sensitivity training and donate $5,000 to a pro-gay or pro-lesbian organization.

When Huntington Beach attorney Matt McLaughlin filed the Sodomite Suppression Act earlier this year, which would make homosexuality punishable by death, it set off a nationwide backlash for its evident hatred and dubious
Constitutionality.

Attorney General Kamala Harris sought a court injunction rescinding her obligation to prepare a title and summary for the initiative, a necessary step before proponents can begin gathering the 365,880 signatures necessary to get it on the ballot.

“This proposal not only threatens public safety, it is patently unconstitutional, utterly reprehensible, and has no place in a civil society,” Harris said in March.

To date, Harris’s office has not prepared a title or summary for the initiative, but did prepare one for the Intolerant Jackass Act.

Also in response to the proposed Sodomite Suppression Act, state Assemblymen Evan Low, D-Campbell, and Richard Bloom, D-Santa Monica, introduced state legislation that would increase the filing fees for proposed initiatives from $200 to $8,000 to prevent frivolous filings.

The bill passed the Assembly in May and was sent to the state Senate for consideration.