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| Date: From: Subject: | 11/27/2007 1:29:48 PM Home School Legal Defense Association Massachusetts--Calls Needed to Oppose Anti-Spanking Bill |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== November 27, 2007 Massachusetts--Calls Needed to Oppose Anti-Spanking Bill Dear HSLDA Members and Friends, Representative Jay Kaufmann has introduced an act--House Bill 3922--to prohibit corporal punishment. The bill is scheduled for a hearing TOMORROW, Wednesday November 28, in the Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities. The bill would make it unlawful for parents to use corporal discipline in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It would also create a presumption that any spanking is child abuse and neglect. Representative Kaufmann asserts that his bill is designed to "eliminate the use of corporal punishment to discipline children, because of the emotional harm and risks of bodily harm associated with corporal punishment of children." To Representative Kaufmann, all spanking is, by definition, child abuse. He apparently believes that "good parents" never spank their children, that only "bad parents" do, and therefore that "good parents" do not need to be worried about House Bill 3922. House Bill 3922 would amend Chapter 119, section 51B of the General Laws, which currently deals with abuse and neglect. If this bill passes, any parent who uses loving and appropriate corporal discipline would be presumed to be abusive or neglectful. This is already a problem in Massachusetts because of the Department of Social Services's policy that treats any report of spanking as presumptively abusive or neglectful. In one recent case, a DSS worker told a parent that because her child did not like spanking, the parent was not acting in the child's best interests. House Bill 3922 would make these types of determinations even more common than they currently are, and such determinations can lead to juvenile court proceedings for the care and protection of children, and even temporary or permanent loss of child custody. Please take the following actions to oppose this legislation. ACTION REQUESTED: 1) CALL TODAY (Preferably before 4:00 p.m.) the members of the Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities according to the first letter of your last name as indicated in the alphabetized list below. 2) CALL your representative. (You can find your representative's office phone and fax numbers, and address by entering your 9-digit ZIP code in HSLDA's Legislative Toolbox at http://capwiz.com/hslda, or by calling the office in your county that handles voter registration.) In your own words, give them the following message: "Please vote no on House Bill 3922 (by Kaufmann). House Bill 3922 would create a presumption that parents who use a small paddle or similar object when lovingly spanking their child to be guilty of child abuse or neglect. House Bill 3922 is unnecessary. Children are already protected from all forms of true child abuse in current law." (If time permits when you call, you may want to be ready to use one of the "Opposition Points to Share with Legislators"--see below--in addition to the suggested "script" above.) You do not need to identify yourself as a homeschooler. This legislation will affect all parents in Massachusetts. Joint Committee on Families, Children, and Persons with Disabilities A - C Senator Karen Spilka State House: (617) 722-1640 District Office: (508) 872-6677 Senator Thomas McGee State House: (617) 722-1350 D - F Senator Steven Baddour State House: (617) 722-1604 Senator Patricia Jehlen State House: (617) 722-1578 G - H Senator Pamela Resor State House: (617) 722-1120 Senator Bruce Tarr State House: (617) 722-1600 I - M Representative Cheryl Coakley-Rivera State House: (617) 722-2011 District Office: (413) 739-1503 Representative Stephen LeDUC State House: (617) 722-2230 District Office: (508) 481-2141 Representative Cory Atkins State House: (617) 722-2013 District Office: (978) 369-5299 N - Q Representative Robert Nyman State House: (617) 722-2020 Representative James Eldridge State House: (617) 722-2060 Representative Mary Rogeness State House: (617) 722-2100 R - S Representative Tom Sannicandro State House: (617) 722-2210 Representative John Fernandes State House: (617) 722-2030 District Office: (508) 473-3063 Representative Mary Grant State House: (617) 722-2220 District Office: (978) 927-1504 T - Z Representative Pam Richardson State House: (617) 722-2582 Representative John Lepper State House: (617) 722-2100 District Office: (617) 399-8985 OPPOSITION POINTS TO SHARE WITH LEGISLATORS The best credible research has shown that non-abusive spanking, when used to back up other disciplinary methods, has been effective in curbing antisocial behavior in children as they grow up. (1) In fact, there is no credible research that backs up House Bill 3922's assertions that spanking is linked to emotional harm or risk of bodily harm. (2) Diana Baumrind, Ph.D., of the University of California found that children who are occasionally spanked score higher on measures of adjustment than children who have never been spanked. (3) According to Robert E. Larzelere, Ph.D., of Oklahoma State University, 10 years after Sweden's ban on spanking was instituted, child abuse had increased instead of decreasing. (4) House Bill 3922 defies all common sense and history. There is no state that forbids the use of an object for spanking by parents. This form of discipline, when reasonably administered, has been accepted by every generation of Americans, including Massachusetts citizens. According to a national ABC News opinion poll, over one half of the persons interviewed believe that a reasonable spanking to the buttocks is appropriate as a method of child discipline and close to one half of parents with minor children at home spank their children Footnotes: 1. Larzelere, Robert E. and Kuhn, Brett R.; Comparing Child Outcomes of Physical Punishment and Alternative Disciplinary Tactics: A Meta-Analysis; Clinical Child and Family Review, Vol. 8, No. 1, March 2005; p. 26. 2. Larzelere, Robert E. and Kuhn, Brett R.; Comparing Child Outcomes of Physical Punishment and Alternative Disciplinary Tactics: A Meta-Analysis; Clinical Child and Family Review, Vol. 8, No. 1, March 2005; p. 2. 3. Baumrind, Diana; Respondent's Affidavit Brief; Canadian Foundation For Children, Youth and the Law vs. The Attorney General In Right of Canada; Superior Court of Justice, Ontario Court; May 3, 1999, para. 85, 87. 4. Larzelere, Robert E.; Sweden's smacking ban: more harm than good; Family First and The Christian Institute; England; 2004; p. 4. 5. ABCNEWS.com: Poll: Most Approve of Spanking Kids; March 26, 2007. Sincerely, Michael P. Donnelly, Esq. Staff Attorney ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> Can you call your attorney at 2 a.m. on Sunday morning? Our members can get in touch with their attorney even after business hours, when they have a legal emergency. Wouldn't you like this level of service? More reasons to join HSLDA... http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1100 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== The HSLDA E-lert Service is a service of: Home School Legal Defense Association P.O. 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