No matter how you slice it...

... ouch. Painful circumcision puns...

On San Francisco's referendum ballot:

Look, even if it passes, it won't stand the test of time. It is far too intrusive into the realm of religious practice, and NOT only the religious practice of Jews, either. Muslim men are also expected to be circumcised, and more than 70% of all Christian males alive today have also been circumcised.

In point of fact, circumcision is just about the only thing the "Religions of the Book" share anymore (aside from monotheism, that is). They are called the Religions of the Book because they all find roots in the five Books of Moses (Christian Old Testament, Jewish Torah, Muslim Law of the Prophets)... but even if that were strictly true 1,200 years ago, it certainly isn't the case today.

What I think is a better monicer for the three big monotheistic faiths is the "Religions of the Covenants". All base their faiths on promises made between Man and God, and the manner in which these promises are kept. This is the single aspect of the faiths that hasn't changed appreciably in any of them for far more than the last age. The last visible vestige of these covenants is the circumcision of males as they are officially brought into the faith communities.

NOTE: Now I admit that there is no "requirement" in Christianity that males be circumcised the way there is in Judaism... but if 70% of Christians today still practice it, it must mean something. However, I admit that this isn't the case in all Christian countries. Most of Europe does not circumcise male children as a matter of course, the way it was and is practiced here in the US and Canada.

Anyway, as long as even a tiny minority (such as the Jewish community in and around San Francisco) feel a religious need for the procedure, it will be protected by the Courts. It is one of the safest, most familiar procedures a pediatrician will ever perform on a child (infant or young teen), and the licenses and training involved are extensive and well established. This is EXACTLY what the "smart" liberals (if there are any) should be avoiding in new legislation... it is far too prone to come back to haunt them and their agenda through "political backlash".