Californian proposes jail time for spanking

[Soldier4Christ]

Californian proposes jail time for spanking 
Childless lawmaker classifies corporal punishment alongside 'beatings'

A plan by a California lawmaker would turn parents who place a careful swat on the bottom of their little one enthralled in pursuit of pleasure during the "Terrible Twos" criminals with a record, and possibly jail time.

"It's really awfully arrogant to try to protect my child from me," Karen England, of the Capitol Resource Institute, told WND. "If they want to protect children, protect them from predators."

The plan is being brought forward by Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, a San Jose Democrat who has no children, England said. Specifically her proposal would prohibit parents from ever spanking their two-year-old or three-year-old children to correct their behavior.

Randy Thomasson, president of the Campaign for Children and Families, called it the wackiest bill of the year.

"This punish-you-if-you-spank-your-children bill is intrusive, unenforceable, and the most blatant violation of parental rights I've ever seen," he said. "What's next, jail time for parents who raise their voices at their children? We already have enough legitimate laws prohibiting physical abuse of children, and this proposal is certainly not one of them."

"Government regulation of parents' discipline wipes out the right of parents to raise their own children. This is wrong. God gave children to parents, not to the state," Thomasson said.

England agreed.

"There already are safeguards in place," she said. "There's a difference between hitting and disciplining."

Her concern, she said, was that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appeared open to the idea of intruding into people's homes.

Lieber had said it was "pretty hard" to argue that a parent needs "to beat a child three years old or younger."

However, family groups said it's not an issue of being able to "beat" a child, but provide discipline.

Lieber said the bill would prohibit "any striking of a child, any corporal punishment, smacking, hitting, punching, any of that" with penalties of up to a year in jail.

"Appropriate spanking is not 'beating' or 'abusing' a child, which is a ridiculous and offensive comparison," said Thomasson. "When appropriate spanking is lovingly administered, it can help a disobedient youngster to become a well-adjusted adult who respects authority."

He noted top child development experts teach that children under 15 or 18 months shouldn't be spanked because they don't understand it, but appropriate spanking of rebellious children from 2-10 "is the shortest and most effective route to an attitude adjustment."

"Assemblywoman Lieber has stated that her reason for introducing the bill is to ban 'beating' children. There is a distinct, obvious difference between beating and spanking," said Meredith Turney, legislative liaison for Capitol Resource Institute. "Beating is abuse generated by anger and frustration – it is already illegal to beat children."

Brad Dacus, of the Pacific Justice Institute, called it yet another effort to expand the reach of government.

"Even without this proposed new law, California gives such wide latitude to Child Protective Services that decent parents often get falsely charged with child abuse," Dacus said. "How much more if the state tries to outlaw all corporal punishment on young children?"

He said the U.S. Supreme Court has affirmed the fundamental rights of parents to direct and control the upbringing of their children.

"Even parents and experts who do not favor the use of corporal punishment have expressed alarm that the government would attempt to outlaw it. For instance, researchers at UC Berkeley's Family Socialization Project have criticized the proposed law because it would seriously undermine parental authority," he said.

California's legislature in the last session turned in an aggressive effort at using the power of the state to mandate families' behavior. Lawmakers in that session approved a series of "sexual indoctrination" bills that failed only because of gubernatorial vetoes.

The plans would have required the state Board of Education to increase sensitivity to so-called "discrimination" by providing unlimited discretion for officials to withhold state funding from schools considered out of "compliance" with those requirements.

A second plan would have integrated "tolerance training" into history and social science curriculums and started a pilot program to force a "new definition" of tolerance on students. That would require them to not only accept homosexuality but advocate for that.

The third part of the plan would have censored any school teaching materials or activities from "reflecting adversely" upon homosexuals, bisexuals or transgenders.

[Shammu]

Look how kids are now, that most parents don't punish their kids.

[Soldier4Christ]

Yep no respect for authority and no fear of getting into trouble.

[Shammu]

If they ever want Christ, they need to know He is the authority of this world. 

Matthew 9:6 But in order that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins and remit the penalty, He then said to the paralyzed man, Get up! Pick up your sleeping pad and go to your own house.

[Soldier4Christ]

Attack on parenting facing delay
Legislator wants all spanking defined as illegal child abuse

A proposal in the California Legislature that would define a well-deserved spanking administered in love by a concerned parent using a rolled-up newspaper as child abuse – and could send that parent to jail – now is facing a delay.

The plan, AB 2943 by Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, D-San Jose, is a rerun of her same plan that was defeated a year ago. She has stated that her proposal only addresses "child abuse" but she also defines any spanking at all as child abuse.

Several California organizations that support traditional family values and parenting rights have raised a red flag over the issue again this year. Now the Campaign for Children and Families confirms that the plan has been delayed, and it credits a flood of telephone calls and e-mails from those concerned about the issue.

"It the last two days, Assembly Appropriations Committee members have received hundreds of phone calls and e-mail messages from Californians opposed to the notion of criminalizing parents who lovingly and infrequently spank their children to correct misbehavior," the organization said in a statement today.

"On Wednesday, the committee placed AB 2943 on the 'suspense file' due to expected high enforcement costs in the midst of a $10 billion state budget deficit," the group said. It noted May 23 is the last day for AB 2943 to be approved by the committee, if that action is going to take place.

According to the Child and Family Protection Association, if the plan would be adopted, "Police and sheriff departments will have a large increase of cases to investigate. District attorneys will also have a large increase in cases to review and prosecute. CPS workers will face a significant increase in reports of alleged abuse to investigate and petitions to be filed in juvenile courts. Criminal and juvenile court judges and their staffs can expect to see a significant increase in their workload. Most of these cases will involve innocent parents who have been arrested or reported because they lovingly disciplined their children. As a result, state and county funding will have to be significantly increased."

Randy Thomasson, president of Campaign for Children and Families, said such a situation is just wrong.

"Innocent parents who lovingly and infrequently spank their children to correct misbehavior are not criminals. But they would be under AB 2943," he said.

He said not only can't the state afford the cost, "the unjustifiable harm that this bill would do to good parents should not be supported by anyone who loves justice."

"AB 2943 equates loving, corrective discipline with hateful, harmful abuse in the law. But parents who raise their children according to traditional values are certainly not child abusers as this bill unfairly claims," he said.

Lieber's plan essentially would add the "use of an implement" while spanking to the definition of child abuse under the California Penal Code. Other portions of the proposal duplicate existing child abuse law.

According to the Home School Legal Defense Association, "when Lieber claims that her bill only deals with child abuse, remember that she has stated repeatedly that all spanking, by definition, is child abuse. Her strategy in AB 2943 is to treat all spanking with an object as criminal child abuse.

"She has deliberately failed to make any distinction between spanking as a method of discipline and true child abuse," the organization summarized.

The plan earlier was approved by the California Assembly's Public Safety Committee.

"It's shameful that a lawmaker wants to ban parents from lovingly disciplining their children," said Karen England, executive director of Capitol Resource Family Impact.

"Many parents use a wooden spoon or similar instrument to discipline a disobedient child because they don't want to use their hand, an instrument of love," she said.

Meredith Turney, the organization's legislative liaison, testified against the plan.

"AB 2943 equates kicking, cutting or burning a child with a responsible spanking," she said. "The millions of responsible parents who lovingly discipline their children would never engage in such abusive behavior as burning or cutting their children."

The California Teacher's Association, however, supported the plan, saying, "The use of physical punishment teaches children that violence/physical force is an acceptable method to resolve differences. We need to stop the cycle of violence…"

That organization also supported teaching homosexuality in class, as well as supported communist teachers in public schools, England said.

[Brother Jerry]

If they pass the law against spanking then it could get some of those deviants in San Francisco off the streets

[David_james]

I agree that spanking should be against the law. There are many other great punishments. To me, it's an excuse to beat them. One time my parents said "I am going to spank you so hard you won't be able to sit for a week" That isn't loving discipline!

[Soldier4Christ]

I am sure that I may have said something similar to my children but I would never have spanked them to that extent. A simple swat to the right location is much different than beatings. Unfortunately, as with most such things, people take these things to the extreme in one direction or another as do those that make these laws. Most of the time it was enough to just speak to them but they also realized that if they continued to not listen that such a punishment might ensue. It is the same with our heavenly Father. He speaks to us time and again but there is a point at which His righteous wrath will follow for those that do not heed His words.

[David_james]

I know brother.

[Soldier4Christ]

Spanking ban put in time-out

The advance of AB 2943, known as the "no-spanking" bill, which is sponsored by Democrat California Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, has been halted for now and placed in a "suspense file" status as of Thursday's meeting of the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

The Committee's move with AB 2943, essentially tabling the matter for now, was said to be a result of budget prioritizations as it looked to reconcile a $10 billion deficit against the expected enforcement costs for the proposal.
 
AB 2943 proposed the banning of spanking with implements such as a spoon or paddle and would result in an increase in cases for the legal system to prosecute and a need for increased staff to handle a larger caseload.
 
California's Campaign for Children and Families suspects the decision was also influenced by calls and emails to legislators in the hundreds over just a matter of days before the scheduled vote on April 30. The activist group is urging constituents all over the Golden State to keep doing the same, to both the legislators and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
 
May 23 is the last day for AB 2943 to pass out of the committee and on to the Assembly floor for this session.