More on California spanking

Anti-spanking advocate Emily Bazelon writes:

Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, who proposed a ban on spanking last week ...
The purpose of Lieber's proposal isn't to send parents to jail, or children to foster care, because of a firm smack. Rather, it would make it easier for prosecutors to bring charges for instances of corporal punishment that they think are tantamount to child abuse.

Her article goes on to admit that there are studies showing that spanking is beneficial, and that studies claiming harm are seriously flawed. What she really wants is to give prosecutors the discretion to put parents in jail when the parents are bad parents.

A U.N. report on violence against children argues that ``the de minimis principle -- that the law does not concern itself with trivial matters'' will keep minor assaults on children out of court, just as it does almost all minor assaults between adults. The U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child has been urging countries to ban corporal punishment since 1996. The idea is that by making it illegal to hit your kids, countries will make hurting them socially unacceptable.

I do hope that the California legislators disregard the silly theories of UN committees.