Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/485686
TheAssociatedPress SAN FRANCISCO Califor- nia Attorney General Ka- mala Harris said Wednes- day she will ask a state court for permission to re- ject a proposed ballot ini- tiative stipulating that any- one who engages in gay sex be killed by "bullets to the head or by any other conve- nient method." Harris issued a state- ment saying she was mak- ing the unusual request to stop the so-called Sodomite Suppression Act filed by a Southern California lawyer late last month. The initia- tive seeks to amend the Cal- ifornia penal code to make gay or lesbian sex a capital offense and the distribution of gay "propaganda" a crime punishable by a $1 million fine or banishment from the state. "As Attorney General of California, it is my sworn duty to uphold the Cali- fornia and United States Constitutions and to pro- tect the rights of all Cal- ifornians. This proposal not only threatens public safety, it is patently uncon- stitutional, utterly repre- hensible, and has no place in a civil society," Harris said. The attorney general's of- fice issues official titles and ballot summaries for pro- posed ballot initiatives be- fore their sponsors are al- lowed to circulate signa- ture petitions to qualify their measures for the bal- lot. Under California's ini- tiative process, state offi- cials do not have author- ity to refuse to administer initiatives they find objec- tionable, the California Su- preme Court repeatedly has ruled. Harris, who earlier in her tenure refused to de- fend a voter-approved ban on same-sex marriages when it was challenged in court, said that unless a judge rules otherwise, she will have no choice but to move the measure through the normal channels. Matthew McLaughlin, the Orange County law- yer who paid $200 to sub- mit the initiative, did not respond to a telephone call seeking comment. University of California, Davis law Professor Floyd Feeney, an expert on Cali- fornia's initiative process, agreed with Harris that she alone cannot impede the proposed law since the state Supreme Court ruled in a 1978 case that the attorney general's role in preparing ballot titles and summaries is a ministerial duty that af- fords no room for discre- tion. That case dealt with an initiative that sought to outlaw teacher strikes, pro- hibit teachers unions from contributing to political campaigns, and to prevent public money from being spent on busing for school desegregation. Yet despite the numer- ous legal problems with McLaughlin's proposal, Feeney said he was not convinced a court would agree to step in now to halt it given its poor chances of qualifying for the ballot, never mind winning voter approval. "The courts, rightly or wrongly, treat the initiative as sort of the citizen right, and they are reluctant to get involved in trying to get rid of it, at least in advance, by using the law to keep some- thing from being presented to the electorate," he said. 'SODOMITE SUPPRESSION ACT' AGmovestoendanti-gayinitiative By Judy Lin The Associated Press SACRAMENTO In a video recorded 19 days before Brittany Maynard took life- ending drugs, she tells Cal- ifornia lawmakers that no one should have to leave home to legally kill them- selves under the care of a doctor. "Unfortunately, Califor- nia law prevented me from getting the end-of-life op- tion I deserved," she said in the recording released Wednesday, hours ahead of the first state Senate com- mittee hearing on the issue. The 29-year-old San Francisco Bay Area woman had terminal brain cancer and moved with her fam- ily to Oregon before killing herself last year. Her death drew wide- spread attention and re- charged legislative efforts in California and else- where to make it legal for terminally ill patients to kill themselves with drugs. "No one should have to leave their home and community for peace of mind, to escape suffer- ing, and to plan for a gen- tle death," Maynard said In the video. The bill being considered in California is expected to face a strong challenge led by medical and religious groups. Opponents see huge consequences for al- lowing doctors to prescribe fatal drugs. Among the opponents are other terminally ill patients such as Kara Tippetts, a 38-year-old Colorado mother of four, who wrote an open let- ter to Maynard in Octo- ber urging her not to end her life. Tippetts wrote that suf- fering can be "the place where true beauty can be known." She died this month of breast cancer. Advocates for aid-in-dy- ing laws say legislators in at least 17 states have intro- duced similar measures this year. However, proposals in at least four states have al- ready stalled for the year and many have not yet re- ceived a hearing. Past proposals have foun- dered in statehouses amid emotionally charged de- bates and strong opposi- tion. Some medical groups say prescribing life-ending medication violates a doc- tor's oath to do no harm, while some advocates for people with disabilities fear some sick patients would feel pressured to end their lives to avoid being a finan- cial burden. In the video recorded by the right-to-die advo- cacy group Compassion & Choices before legislation was introduced in Califor- nia, Maynard said she ex- plored palliative care as an alternative to life-ending drugs but found that op- tion terrifying. "I may be minimally con- scious, still suffering and unable to move or speak," she said. Palliative care refers to specialized medical treat- ment to manage stress and pain from serious illnesses. Maynard's husband, Dan Diaz, who introduced the video at the hearing, said he respects those who disagree with him and his wife, but aid-in-dying should be an option for all Californians. "Even the staunchest of opponents might say, 'Well, I may not use it, but I would certainly want the option,'" Diaz said as he choked back tears. The practice is legal in five states, including Ore- gon, where Maynard moved before she took her life Nov. 1. The other states are Mon- tana, New Mexico, Vermont and Washington. California advocates have said they would con- sider taking the issue to vot- ers if it fails in the Legis- lature. Before her death, May- nard made her case pub- lic with online videos that were viewed tens of mil- lions of times. Maynard's mother, Deb- orah Ziegler, also appeared in Sacramento in support of SB128. The proposal by Sens. Bill Monning, D-Carmel, and Lois Wolk, D-Davis, would allow terminally ill patients to kill themselves in California with drugs and dosages recommended by a doctor. STATE SENATE HEARING Posthumous Brittany Maynard video supports aid-in-dying bill RICHPEDRONCELLI—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Dan Diaz, the husband of Brittany Maynard, answers a question concerning proposed legislation allowing doctors to prescribe life ending medication to terminally ill patients, during a news conference at the Capitol in Sacramento on Wednesday. PLEASERECYCLETHISNEWSPAPER. Thankyou! By Gillian Flaccus The Associated Press HUNTINGTON BEACH A woman whose boyfriend reported that intruders ab- ducted her from their San Francisco Bay Area home and held her for ransom was found safe Wednes- day at her father's South- ern California apartment. D e n i s e Huskins' fa- ther, Mike H u s k i n s , s a id h i s d a u g h t e r called him around 9:30 a.m. to say she'd been dropped off at her mother's house in Huntington Beach. No one was home so she told him she walked the 12 blocks to his home near the beach. "She wasn't crying at all. She just said, "Daddy, I'm OK," the emotional father told The Associated Press. Her return capped a bi- zarre ordeal that began Monday when her boy- friend told police she was forcefully taken in the middle of the night from their home in the San Francisco Bay Area sub- urb of Vallejo. On Tuesday, the San Francisco Chronicle re- ceived an email from an anonymous person claim- ing to be holding the 29-year-old woman. The person wrote that she would be returned safely Wednesday, the newspaper reported. "We will send a link to her location after she has been dropped off. She will be in good health and safe while she waits," the email read. "Any advance on us or our associates will cre- ate a dangerous situation for Denise. Wait until she is recovered and then pro- ceed how you will. We will be ready." The email included an audio file of a woman identifying herself as De- nise Huskins, who men- tioned Tuesday's airliner crash in the French Alps to verify she was alive. Mike Huskins confirmed the voice in the file was his daughter's, the Chron- icle reported. The father told the AP that he and his ex-wife were in Vallejo when their daughter turned up Wednesday about 400 miles south in Hunting- ton Beach. Reina Yorba, 12, said she and her mother, An- issa, heard Denise Huskins pounding loudly on her fa- ther's door in their apart- ment complex. Then they saw her borrow a phone from a neighbor. "When she was talking, it was panicky. It was loud and panicky," Reina said of the call. She added police arrived within minutes. Mike Huskins said he knew nothing about a ran- som but has no doubt his daughter was really kid- napped. "No ransom was ever dis- cussed with me, but police aren't telling me everything that they heard," he said. "It's going to take a while be- fore it all sorts out, I think." For now, he said, he's just happy to know his daughter is safe. "I feel very relieved. Can you imagine? You can't un- less you've experienced it," he said. "I don't recom- mend this experience for anybody." The father said he was not headed back to Hun- tington Beach immedi- ately because Vallejo po- lice still wanted to speak with him. His daughter's boy- friend, Aaron Quinn, called police at about 2 p.m. Monday to report she was abducted from the Mare Island home they share in Vallejo. It's unclear why Quinn, 30, took so long to alert au- thorities. A car registered to him was taken from the cou- ple's home and found at an undisclosed location, investigators said. Police wouldn't reveal further details about the case but said Quinn was not a person of interest. Denise Huskins works as a physical therapist at Kaiser Permanente Medi- cal Center in Vallejo. She moved to the area in June from Southern California. Her uncle Jeff Kane also said he believes she was ab- ducted. He described De- nise Huskins as a person of sterling character, say- ing she is career-oriented, independent and strong. "She's a good girl, not into any bad things," he said. Associated Press writer Scott Smith in Fresno and AP researcher Jennifer Farrar in New York contributed to this report. 'DADDY, I'M OK' Woman reported kidnapped found safe a er mysterious ordeal Huskins Full color supplement valued at $4.95 will come with Carrier-Delivered copies of The Daily News on Tuesday, March 31 HOME RUN FOR HOME SUBSCRIBERS! 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