​Bible-bashing: Lawyer’s ‘death to gays’ bill prompts call to ban… shellfish

A US lawyer’s bill to make it legal for the public to put to death homosexuals, as written in the Old Testament, has inspired other bills, including a ban on shellfish, and one that would label the homophobic lawyer and his ilk “intolerant jackasses.”

If the US judicial system is clogged with court cases waiting to be heard, now it is a bit clearer why.

Last month, California attorney Matthew McLaughlin paid $200 to file the "Sodomite Suppression Act,” basing his case on the controversial Old Testament passage from the Book of Leviticus, which reads: "If a man also lies with a man, as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death."

The bill will be submitted to voters in November 2016.

However, Joe Decker, an activist in the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) community, did some research and came up with another thing specifically forbidden by the Bible: shellfish.

Leviticus 11:12 says: "Whatsoever has no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you."

READ MORE: California AG asks court to stop ‘Sodomite Suppression Act’

Decker decided to propose the so-called Shellfish Suppression Act, which declares: "Shellfish are a monstrous evil that Almighty God, giver of freedom and liberty, commands us in Leviticus to suppress. They also smell bad.”

The proposed fine for breaking the shellfish ban would be tough: “$666,000 per occurrence, and/or imprisoned for up to six years, six months, and six days."

There's also been another bill filed, called the Intolerant Jackass Act.

It states: "Any person, herein known as an ‘Intolerant Jackass’, who brings forth a ballot measure that suggests the killing of gays and/or lesbians, whether this measure is called the Sodomite Suppression Act or is known by some other name, shall be required to attend sensitivity training for at least three hours per month for 12 consecutive months."

However, the bills – which require the signatures of at least 5 percent of voters (over 300,000 people) to get on to the ballot paper - are not expected to make it very far.