Protesting against male circumcision in Dover

DOVER — Dressed in a white shirt except for red paint on their crotches designed to look like blood, a group of protesters stood at Weeks Crossing on Thursday to protest male circumcision.

Dover was one city on a 21-day tour titled the “Northeast Circumcision Crisis Tour,” said Harry Guiremand, a spokesperson for the nonprofit organization, Bloodstained Men that seeks to reduce the number of males circumcised.

“It’s absolutely tragic what they do to little boys, and it’s unconscionable to do that to an infant who only needs love nurturing and care,” he said a small group of men and woman stood with signs as traffic zoomed by.

Guiremand, who is from Hawaii, called it circumcision genital mutilation and said it should be banned federally as female genital mutilation is for those who are under 18 years old. He said most male circumcision occurs shortly after birth when they have no say in what happens to their own body.

Guiremand said he is one of the millions of men who were circumcised shortly after birth. “I would have never have agreed to it. I don’t know anybody who would,” he said.

Many of the folks protesting, with signs like, “Circumcision tortures boys,” “Circumcision tortures your son” and “Vote no on circumcision,” were from out of state. One woman was Buffalo, New York, two were from Boston, one man was from Davis, California, and another from Kansas City, Missouri. Some locals joined the protest for the day, like Caitlin Dowd of Portsmouth. “I feel strongly about this cause,” she said. Dowd said she studied the issue before her 2½-year-old son was born and opted not to circumcise. “When babies are born, they are so perfect and innocent, and it’s a real tragedy to put them through that torture.”