If you were to believe numerous newspaper headlines from late last week, you would think that the ultimate "Nanny State" bill by Democrat Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, to criminalize the spanking of children by their parents, was dead and buried. Not so, I found out. Here’s the scoop for FR friend Karen England (pictured below) over at the Capitol Resource Instutute:
Assemblywoman Sally Lieber (D- Mountain View) has, as promised, introduced a bill to ban parents from using physical force in disciplining their children. AB 755 bans parents from using spanking as discipline for misbehavior.
According to the bill, a parent who spanks their child will be placed on probation for 4 years, would be forced to attend a “nonviolent parental education class” and the child would receive a criminal court protective order “protecting the victim from further acts of violence.”
“Media outlets are falsely reporting that the spanking ban has been dropped. In fact, the bill is still a ban on spanking,” stated Karen England, Executive Director of Capitol Resource Institute.
“Assemblywoman Lieber has claimed that she is no longer going to ban ‘spanking’. This is mere semantics as AB 755 on its face bans the use of force in disciplining a child.
This is a tactic often used by politicians to make their legislation seem benign when in fact it is still just as bad.”
“Parents often use a wooden spoon or ruler to spank their children. This legislation actually bans the use of ‘a stick, a rod, a switch, a belt’—tools often used by responsible parents in spanking disobedient children,” explained England. “As a parent, I am angered that the government is declaring my disobedient child “a victim” and intervening in the raising of my children.”
“AB 755 creates a ‘rebuttable presumption’ that when parents discipline their children, they are abusers,” explained Meredith Turney, Legislative Liaison for Capitol Resource Institute. “The government is basically telling parents that when they use responsible discipline in training their children, they are the criminals. Discipline is used to protect children from disobedient behavior that could harm them. It is appalling that the government is treating parents like criminals when there are dangerous sexual predators on our streets.”
“Assemblywoman Lieber is purposely misleading the citizens of California when she claims to have ‘abandoned’ the spanking ban. And the media have become her accomplices in this deception,” stated England. “Make no mistake, AB 755 is a serious attack on parental authority. We call on every responsible parent in California to contact their legislator and urge them to vote against AB 755.”
March 1st, 2007 at 12:00 am
The importance of the inclusion of a rebuttable presumption that the spanking was unjustifiable should not be overlooked. In a normal criminal proceeding the prosecutor must prove the case against the defendant beyond a reasonable doubt. Under AB 755 the proof burden shifts to the parent to prove the spanking with a switch, stick, etc. was justifiable. A heavy burden to bear.
Thus Ms. Lieber wishes to not only make spanking against the law but to stack the deck in the criminal proceedings against the parents with a prison sentence of up to six years. A rapist, a bank robber and a cop killer will have more protection in the criminal justice system than California parents if this bill passes.