A California attorney has proposed a controversial ballot initiative that calls for the execution of homosexuals.
Matt McLaughlin's Sodomite Suppression Act also bans advocating for LGBT rights to minors, punishable by a $1 million fine, up to 10 years in prison, and expulsion from the state.
The Orange County lawyer paid a $200 filing fee to sponsor the initiative, and California Attorney General Kamala Harris will likely grant it a title and summary, according to Vox. If McLaughlin can secure at least 365,000 signatures, the initiative could appear on the ballot in November 2016.
"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," McLaughlin wrote in his proposal.
Some voting advocates have complained that the process for submitting items for the California ballot is too lax, and the fee too low.
"Increasing the fee, even to $500 or $1,000, would help ensure that those who put initiatives into circulation are sincere in their efforts," California Voter Foundation founder and president Kim Alexander told the Sacramento Bee.
Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens, Los Angeles County) and other politicians are working to get McLaughlin disbarred because of his effort. According to Lara, attorneys must show "good moral character" to maintain their job, and an investigation into McLaughlin's background is underway.
In 2004, the controversial attorney proposed an initiative to have the King James Bible taught in schools. The measure failed to make the ballot.
