An anti-circumcision group will circulate a petition in Santa Monica to place a ballot measure seeking to ban male circumcision.

A notice of intent to circulate a petition, proposing an initiative prohibiting “genital cutting of male minors” for the November ballot in Santa Monica, was filed with the city, the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles reported. The filing comes on the heels of an anti-circumcision measure recently approved for the November ballot by San Francisco city officials.

The text of Santa Monica’s proposed initiative is identical to the one that will appear on the San Francisco ballot, according to the Jewish Journal.

The measure makes it a misdemeanor crime to circumcise a boy younger than 18 in Santa Monica. The maximum penalty would be a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. Circumcisions would be permitted only for medical reasons, with no religious exemptions.

Santa Monica, population 90,000, has two hospitals and six synagogues, according to the Firedoglake online news site.

The group MGMbill.org, an acronym for male genital mutilation, reportedly is behind the initiative. — jta