One of our readers, Brooke Bovard, has written this guest post.
Delaware, as a ‘blue’ state, and without much to steal, is new to the game of being targeted by the Right. Sure, they tried to foist Christine O’Donnell on us, but they can’t be trying too hard, right?
Sadly, wrong. A case in point is action on SB 234, which deals with the presumably bipartisan priority of preventing child abuse. But, not so fast, L’il Pilgrim. According to the email alert sent out by the Home School Legal Defense Association:
Anti-Spanking Bill Passes House Committee
If SB 234 is passed into law, parents could go to jail for disciplining their children.
Dee Black answers questions and provides legal assistance for members in Delaware. He and his wife homeschooled all four of their children.
Dear HSLDA Members and Friends:
Bad news! Yesterday, the House Judiciary Committee approved Senate Bill 234 by a unanimous vote of 7–0. It now goes to the full House of Representatives, which will vote on it either today, tomorrow, or Saturday. Your calls and emails are needed to convince members of the House that Delaware citizens do not want to make it a crime for parents to spank their own children.
Senate Bill 234, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Patricia M. Blevins (District 7), creates a definition of the term “physical injury” in the child abuse and neglect laws to include “pain.” Currently the law permits a parent to use force to punish a child for misconduct, but it prohibits any act that is likely to cause or does cause physical injury. By defining “physical injury” to include the infliction of pain on a child, spanking would become a crime in Delaware punishable by imprisonment for up to two years.
It has a sample letter to please call or email your rep, and another “action item” to forward this to every family you know who is not already on the HSLDA list.
Anyone want to make some calls on the other side?