It had to happen.
Delaware has become the very first state to pass a controversial law that effectively outlaws the corporal discipline of children by their parents. Senate bill 234 was signed into law by Governor Jack Markell on September 12 [2012].
Sponsored by Delaware’s Senate Majority Leader Patricia Blevins, the bill redefines child abuse laws to include any act that causes “pain.”
Now parents who cause pain will find themselves prosecuted. Consider the pain of a lawyer at $200 an hour, followed by a conviction.
“Assaults against children are different than assaults against adults,” said Sen. Blevins. “So, it is important to make this a standalone crime.”
The new law creates three levels of child abuse. The first and second degrees are considered felonies and penalties increase if the victim is under four years old and suffers from intellectual or developmental disabilities. Parents who are guilty of committing “physical injury,” or “pain,” to a child under the age of 18 would be guilty of a class A misdemeanor and subjected to a year in prison as a result. One who is charged with causing pain to a child under the age of three would be guilty of a class G felony and subjected to two years imprisonment.
Voters in the northeast will accept almost anything. They do not resist. They do not leave the state. They sit.
Liberty is now maintained by the tender mercies of politicians and bureaucrats.
BIDEN HIS TIME
Guess what?
Behind the push for this law was state Attorney General Beau Biden, the son of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden. “We know children are three times more likely to be assaulted, hurt or harmed if they have a developmental disability or are under four years old,” said Biden. “We wanted to recognize a very vulnerable victim pool.”
Spanking is child abuse.
Delaware State Rep. Rebecca Walker, who cosponsored the bill, explains that she feels very strongly about child abuse after she witnessed cases of abuse firsthand while working as a forensic emergency room nurse. “It happens a lot in Delaware, a lot more than people think,” said Walker. “[This bill] can be something that will help our kids be a little bit safer.”
There is of course liberal doublespeak.
Biden insists that the law does not prohibit spanking. “This will not do anything to interfere with a parent’s right or ability to parent as they see fit, but it also makes it clear that if you abuse a child in any way, shape or form, we’re going to have a statute that we’re going to be able to use to protect kids,” he stated.
Before spanking your child in Delaware, consult your lawyer . . . at $200 per hour.
. . . StopSpanking.org interpreted the ordinance to prohibit spanking, reporting on its site, “Delaware is the first state to legislate against hitting children in an effort to stop child abuse. Senate Bill 234 effectively bans hitting of children, including in the home.”
Tell me this is not nuts.
Nicole Theis uses the example of a child reaching for a boiling pot of water and this law making it so that you can’t slap its hand to defend spanking. There has to be a problem with someone when the first thing they can think of doing is hitting a child. How about pulling the hand away instead?
Also this.
Corporal punishment doesn’t work in the long run. And places which use it a lot also have a high incidence of abuse of the elderly.
Spanking leads to abuse of oldsters. Yes, I see! My brain has been Bidenized.
It gets worse. Click the link.
Continue reading on thenewamerican.com.
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Published on October 9, 2012. The original is here.
Liberals prefer state power to family power. The war against the family is self-conscious by liberals. The family's authority is correctly seen by liberals as inhibiting the power of the state to regulate the lives of children.
Sadly, the vast majority of Americans agree with liberals in principle. The proof of this is the compulsory tax-funded educational system. If parents wanted to retain their authority, they would vote against every school bond issue. They would vote to de-fund the public schools. They do not. About 85% of parents send their children to public schools.
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