Kamala D. Harris

California Attorney General Kamala Harris likely will have to let a ballot proposal authorizing the killing of gays and lesbians in the state proceed to signature gathering, experts say.

(Richard Vogel, Associated Press file photo)

A ballot proposal to allow the killing of gays and lesbians in California is unlikely to be successful, but the issue is raising questions about the limits of free speech and the state's initiative process.

NBC News reports Orange County lawyer Matthew Gregory McLaughlin filed the Sodomite Suppression Act on Feb. 24 with the state's attorney general's office. The proposed law would also ban gays from holding public office.

McLaughlin's law calls for people who are spreading "sodomite propaganda" to be fined $1 million or be sentenced to jail, according to NBC.

The bill proposes the authorization for the killing of gays and lesbians by "bullets to the head" or "any other convenient method," the Sacramento Bee reports.

The state Legislature's LGBT Caucus is asking the State Bar to investigate whether McLaughlin is fit to practice law.

"We are shocked and outraged that a member of the State Bar would so callously call for the disenfranchisement, expulsion and murder of members of the LGBT community," the caucus wrote in its complaint obtained by NBC News. "We believe that this measure not only fails constitutional muster, but that such inciting and hateful language has no place in our discourse, let alone state constitution."

Legal experts tell the KXTV of Sacramento that McLaughlin is acting as a citizen, not a lawyer, so it's unlikely the State Bar will take action. Carol Dahmen, a media consultant in Sacramento who started the petition to disbar McLaughlin, tells the Bee that McLaughlin still has crossed the line.

"It's an interesting discussion about free speech, and I get that," Dahmen said. "But this is a lawyer and he's advocating for murder."

Experts also say that Attorney General Kamala Harris has little choice but to let the proposal advance to the signature-gathering stage, the Bee reports. More than 300,000 valid signatures would be needed to get the proposal on the ballot.

Vikram Amar, a professor of law at the University of California, Davis, tells KXTV that the proposal could never become law.

"Something like this will ultimately never become law because it blatantly violates the state constitution and the U.S. Constitution," Amar said. "There's no question this is not even going to be a real thing, but the question is at what point do you put an end to it."

Currently, the fee to submit a ballot proposal in California is $200. Kim Alexander, an expert on ballot measures, tells the Bee that raising the fee to $500 or $1,000 "would help ensure that those who put initiatives into circulation are sincere in their efforts."