Legislation to ban spanking is a foolish exercise

Published online on Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2007

The real child abuse

Once again our childish lawmakers are looking for another dog to wag. Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, D-Mountain View, has attempted to divert attention away from democratic opposition to Jessica's Law by "protecting" our children from "spanking."

Are we supposed to be impressed with disputed studies and data that includes current illegal child abuse? Piercing an infant's ears fits the legal definition of assault better than a swat to deter a 2-year-old from touching a stove.

Poor diet and lack of exercise will create much more health and psychological issues for children than non-abusive spanking. Shall we arrest those parents who cannot afford a proper diet? Or should we simply redirect our efforts back to protecting children from child predators instead of replacing them in a cell with a mother who gave her 2-year-old a swat?

Eric Fletcher

Fresno

'Ludicrous' elected officials

Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, D-Mountain View, has introduced a bill that would make spanking a child under 3 a misdemeanor punishable up to one year in prison and a $1,000 fine. There is serious doubt this bill will make it out of conference, but it shows how ludicrous some of our elected officials are.

While this bill has been introduced to prohibit spanking, these same elected officials refused to approve Jessica's Law protecting our children from child molesters by requiring mandatory minimum prison sentences and predator-free zones. However, the electorate overwhelmingly approved Proposition 83 making Jessica's Law law.

The only conclusion one can come to is that the inmates are running the California Assembly and Senate in Sacramento. God help us!

Ed Staples

Visalia