Bill Targeting Parents Who Spank with a Switch Passes Committee
by Staff
April 20, 2007
SACRAMENTO, (christiansunite.com) -- The controversial California spanking bill passed its first legislative hurdle Tuesday on a party-line vote, Democrats for, Republicans against. Despite a flood of opposition phone calls and emails from California parents, AB 755 continues to assume that good mothers and good fathers who discipline their own children with "a stick, a rod, a switch" are committing criminal child abuse.Thomasson: "AB 755 biases police officers, social workers, district attorneys, and juries to regard traditional methods of child discipline as hateful, harmful abuse. This irresponsible committee has passed a very irresponsible bill."
Testifying against AB 755 in the Assembly Public Safety Committee on Tuesday was respected constitutional attorney David Llewellyn of Sacramento and Campaign for Children and Families President Randy Thomasson, among others. The ACLU and the California Public Defenders Association also expressed their concerns in their testimony.
Speaking against and voting "no" on AB 755 were Republicans Greg Aghazarian of Stockton and Joel Anderson of El Cajon. Voting "yes" on AB 755 were Democrats Jose Solorio of Santa Ana, Hector De La Torre of Southgate, Fiona Ma of San Francisco and Mark Leno of San Francisco. Democrat Anthony Portantino of La Canada-Flintridge was not present at the time of the vote.
"AB 755 biases police officers, social workers, district attorneys and juries to regard traditional methods of child discipline as hateful, harmful abuse," said Randy Thomasson, president of Campaign for Children and Families (CCF), a leading California- based pro-family organization. "This irresponsible committee has passed a very irresponsible bill. Since juries already have broad authority to convict and sentence child abusers, AB 755 is unnecessary. The real purpose of the bill is to transform good parents who use traditional methods of discipline into suspected child abusers in the eyes of the law."
