SACRAMENTO – The state Legislature is about to weigh in on a question that stirs impassioned debate among moms and dads: Should parents spank their children?

Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, D-Mountain View, wants to outlaw spanking children up to 3 years old. If she succeeds, California would become the first state in the nation to explicitly ban parents from smacking their kids.

Making a swat on the behind a misdemeanor might seem a bit much for some — and the chances of the idea becoming law appear slim, at best — but Lieber begs to differ.

“I think it’s pretty hard to argue you need to beat a child 3 years old or younger,” Lieber said. “Is it OK to whip a 1-year-old or a 6-month-old or a newborn?”

The bill, which is still being drafted, will be written broadly, she added, prohibiting “any striking of a child, any corporal punishment, smacking, hitting, punching, any of that.” Lieber said it would be a misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail or a fine up to $1,000, although a legal expert advising her on the proposal said first-time offenders would probably only have to attend parenting classes.

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Now they are trying to tell parents how to raise their kids now?

I am sorry, but I see nothing wrong with disciplining an out of control child with a swat on the rear. Do I do that with my kids, yes. Do I do it all the time, no. Sometimes a spanking will be effective, other times standing in the corner, or grounding, or losing snacks / treats for a day…ect will work better.

I believe it is a PARENT’S call on how to raise their child, not the States. Whats next? Milk is determined to be bad for you, so the state will ban parents from giving milk to children? Or dressing in hammy-downs, or cheaper no-brand named clothes causes a child to have low self-esteem, so parents MUST buy name brand clothes for their children?

Little Timmy is throwing a tantrum on the grocery store floor, screaming, kicking, knocking over displays, kicking and hitting at other people walking by who just shake their head when they look at you….

“Now Timmy, if you don’t stop that I am going to have ot punish you in a non-self esteem destroying way, that builds your character, and doesn’t hurt the feelings of thoe busy nosy-bodies that want to watch as I do this…..now you don’t want me to do that do you? Well you better stop then. Don’t make me raise my voice…..” [someone may report you for VERBAL abuse by raising your voice then]

Meanwhile the majority seems to oppose this ban….

It is a controversial issue, and while a Bay Area lawmaker wants it addressed in Sacramento — a majority of those surveyed for a new CBS 5 poll expressed opposition to a spanking ban.

In California, it’s currently against the law for anyone but parents to spank a child. A proposed new law would make it illegal for them, too, if the child is 3 years old or younger.

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A poll of 500 Bay Area adults conducted for CBS 5 by Survey USA on Thursday found 57% would oppose such a bill, while only 23% would support it. The poll, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4%, showed 11% undecided.

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The proposed law would make spanking a child under 3 misdemeanor child abuse, an extenstion of current corporal punishment laws.

Violators could spend a year in jail, and pay up to $1000 in fines. Enforcement is unclear.

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At the parenting classes at Parent’s Place, spanking is considered the wrong discipline. Lee Ann Slaton leads discipline classes there. She said, “It teaches a child, if you’re bigger you can hit. Violence begets violence.. and they’re not learning.”

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I don’t agree with that last assessment. Reason being, that if children learn hitting from spankings, then why do we not see children run around spanking each other? If that is what they are learning….if your bigger you can spank somone smaller, why is it they aren’t spanking others?

Reason is, children learn that if they do something wrong they get punished. Whether it be a spanking, standing in the corner, losing priveledges, losing snacks or treats, losing TV, being grounded, no friends over…ect.

Are they going to say next time i make my child stand in the corner that I am holding them against their will in a place they don’t want to be? So I get charged with what…kidnapping?

I don’t give in to my childs demands for treats, snacks, tv, ect and get charged with ..what….Child Neglect?

Tell me, how many have been spanked as a child? Did you go around hitting and bullying other children as a result of it?

I was spanked as a child, know what I got out of it? I learned that if I did something bad or wrong, that I got spanked, so I better not do that!

Fortunately it’s well above freezing here in Tallahassee. The last time we had significant freezing precipitation of any sort was back in 1989 when about 2 inches of snow fell in the area. I was during a period near the Christmas holidays and my wife & I barely got out of town (west on I-10) before they shut down the highways.

When I was in college (Mississippi State University) it would usually snow and/or sleet about twice each year usually during January/February. Back then I drove a Toyota Corolla hatchback and even though the snow and ice were all over the roads on campus, with just common sense and basic skills I was able to drive anywhere I wanted to quite safely while idiots in 4-wheel drive trucks were sliding all over the place. Simple rules like drive at low rates of speed, accelerate slowly, don’t hit the brakes and when going uphill, don’t allow your momentum to stop until you get to the top of the hill. Those simple rules worked for me.

Benning, that’s nothing new to us here in South Jersey. There are still some pockets of sanity left here, but unfortunately the moonbat North dominates the state.

You should know that the VFW and the Legion are actively opposing the bill (article here), but Corzine hasn’t committed one way or the other yet. The biggest newspaper in the state is predictably left wing, and is busy pretending there’s nothing worth noticing (editorial here).

Obviously the result of global warming.

IMPEACH BUSH NOW!

Stay bundled up and don’t try to lift any ice bergs!