Pastor Sentenced To 2 Years In Prison For Teaching That Parents Should Spank Their Children

Right Side News ^ | 5/30/2012 | American Dream

[IbJensen]

Do you believe that parents should be able to spank their children? Do you ever express that opinion to others?

If so, then you could be sent to prison. Sadly, that is exactly what happened to one pastor up in Wisconsin recently. A minister named Philip Caminiti was sentenced to 2 years in prison for simply teaching that parents should spank their children when they misbehave. Please note that Caminiti was not accused of spanking anyone or of physically hurting anyone.

He was put in prison simply for his speech. He was put in prison simply for what he was teaching others to do. Whether you agree with spanking or not, this should be incredibly sobering for all of us.

Increasingly, speech is being penalized in the United States. Much of the time, the focus of the attacks by the forces of political correctness is on religious speech. If this trend continues, many of you that are reading this article might be put in jail for the things that you say in the coming years.

When many of us were growing up, once in a while our parents would take out a belt or a wooden paddle and give us a paddling on the behind when we did something wrong.

Was there anything wrong with that?

Of course not.

Yes, there is real child abuse that goes on out there, but in the vast majority of instances spanking does not do any lasting physical harm. Rather, it benefits the child because it helps them learn what is right and what is wrong.

I know that when I got a licking on the behind as a child that helped me to remember not to do the same thing again.

But Dane County Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi was absolutely horrified that some parents would actually use a wooden spoon to spank their little children when they misbehaved.

Perhaps that judge should actually try to spank someone with a wooden spoon some time. You simply cannot do much damage with a wooden spoon.

Instead of going after the parents who were doing the spanking, prosecutors chose to go after the pastor instead. They claimed that Caminiti was "the spoke in the wheel of this conspiracy".

Even after Caminiti leaves prison, he will be forbidden from having any contact with his old church....

Caminiti will be on extended supervision for six years after his release from prison. Despite objections on constitutional grounds by Caminiti's lawyers, Sumi ordered that he not have any contact with the Aleitheia Bible Church and have no leadership role in any church.

What in the world is happening to this country?

Criminal predators are literally eating the faces off of people, and yet authorities want to go after pastors that are encouraging their congregations to follow the teachings of the Bible?

Have we stepped into a really bizarre episode of The Twilight Zone?

Sadly, this is not the only example of how our free speech is under attack these days.

Up in New York, a new bill was recently introduced that would outlaw all "mean-spirited and baseless political attacks".

I think that would cover a whole lot of people that leave comments on my blog.

The following is how a recent article by Kurt Nimmo described what this new law would require....

New York state government is attempting to pass the measure in both the Senate and the Assembly. The legislation has been referred to the Codes Committee in the Senate, and the Government Operations Committee in the Assembly.

Both proposals are identical and would effect messages posted on message boards, blogs, social networks, and “any other discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages.” The law would require websites to post email addresses for “removal requests, clearly visible in any sections where comments are posted.” Those demanding the removal of content they find objectionable, however, would have their anonymity protected.

“Had the internet been around in the late 1700s, perhaps the anonymously written Federalist Papers would have to be taken down unless Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay revealed themselves,” notes David Kravets, writing for Wired.

Will we soon see laws such as this nationwide?

Will all blogs and websites soon be at the mercy of the politically correct police?

Up in Buffalo, New York it is apparently now against the law to hand out Christian tracts on a public sidewalk. At least that is what one man was told recently when he attempted to hand out tracts outside of an Italian heritage festival. The following is from a recent WorldNetDaily article....

While handing out tracts to willing recipients on a public street during a public festival, Owen was approached by a police officer who declined to identify himself but told him that the Buffalo Police Department is “the law” and he should stop handing out tracts.

According to the lawsuit: “Subsequently, another police officer, Officer Slomka, arrived on the scene. She quickly informed Owen that they could not hand out tracts in the festival and explained that the prohibition was ‘by our orders.’ Owen asked for her name, and she replied: ‘Slomka, write it down.’ Owen advised that he believed the tracts to be free speech; nonplussed, Officer Slomka reiterated that they couldn’t hand out tracts there and had to go outside of the festival area to continue with their expressive activity.”

Then, “Owen inquired as to whether they would be arrested if they continued to hand out tracts in the festival area, to which, Officer Slomka replied: ‘Yes.’”

That almost makes me angry enough to take a trip over to Buffalo and hand out tracts right outside the police station.

Even if you do not ever distribute literature, you should be alarmed at how our freedom of speech is being eroded.

The truth is that whenever anyone has their freedom of speech attacked it is an attack on all of us.

If we are not careful, we are going to end up just like Canada.

At one high school up in Canada recently, a student was suspended from school for a week for wearing a shirt with the following message....

"Life is wasted without Jesus"

The student was told that the shirt was "hate talk" and that he would be suspended for the rest of the year if he tried to wear it to school again.

They are coming for our free speech ladies and gentlemen.

They are not going to be satisfied until they have either shut all of us up or put all of us in prison.

It is imperative that we all stand up for free speech while we still can. Once our freedom of speech is gone, the loss of the rest of our freedoms will only be a matter of time.

[IbJensen]

It's said those who ignore history are bound to repeat it. Would this be an appropriate place to recommend reading "Foxes book of Martyrs"? (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/22400/22400-h/22400-h.htm), or perhaps suggest reading about the accusation & trial of William Penn? Wasn't this settled by the 1st amendment?

The first order of business is to get rid of the usurping phony in the White Hut and then unplug, destroy everything that's not needed in the central socialist government. That should amaze even Weight Watchers! Close overseas military bases and bring all troops home to train and hold in reserve to defend this growingly pitiful nation! This spanking with a spoon thing is so far beyond the pale that it should scare the crap out of even the most hardened leftist voter who would vote for the scum ensconsed in the Oval Orifice.

[DH]

Our society completely collapsed when we became the “mommy” society. The one in which bad behavior resulted in a painful experience has been replaced with hugs.

However, mother nature still has her laws. For example: grab hold of a live wasp nest. Bad idea...it will result in pain each and every time. Used to be that laws and household rules were the same way but now due to PC, sensitivity, feminized males and the physiological castration of males, we no longer punish anyone for bad behavior.

[afraidfortherepublic]

Wisconsin judge attacks First Amendment — sends Pastor to jail for 2 years; forbids him from taking leadership role in any church.

This is the same judge who attacked Gov. Walker’s collective bargining law last year. http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/122657299.html

FReep Mail me if you want on, or off, this Wisconsin interest ping list.

[wesagain]

This is fricken unbelievable in America!!!

[gusopol3]

Dane County Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi

This is the criminal that as been so involved in trying to advance the union position in the recalls,etc. She had major conflicts of interest in that immediate family members are members of the unions whose cause she attempted to advance.

[AppyPappy]

Actually he taught that babies should be beaten with wooden sticks, not just spanked.

You can’t lead if the baby don’t bleed.

[john mirse]

If so, then you could be sent to prison. Sadly, that is exactly what happened to one pastor up in Wisconsin recently. A minister named Philip Caminiti was sentenced to 2 years in prison for simply teaching that parents should spank their children when they misbehave. Please note that Caminiti was not accused of spanking anyone or of physically hurting anyone.

********

Scary. What happened to free speech?

Is there anything else that a preacher/minister/priest/rabbi can say or teach that will put him in jail somewhere in the United States, especially when no one can force anyone to join that particular church and do what the preacher is teaching?

Can the preacher appeal his sentence?

[Conservative Vermont Vet]

When I first read this earlier this morning, what came to mind (as I'm certain it did/will other Freepers) is how/why this Pastor can be charged and convicted or "Conspiracy" to preach violence against children by advocating corporal punishment.....

....YET, there is nary a word (much less a suggestion) that the HUNDREDS of "Imams" (and sundry other Islamic Officials) throughout the U.S. who advocate worst (the overthrow of our Republic; support Jihad against us; do not oppose honor killings, death for apostates; hatred towards Jews, Christians and all other Infidels, etc.) are given a pass and their "speech" is considered "Protected" under the 1st Amendment and moreso, due to their couching their Seditious/Traitorous Acts in terms of "Religous Freedom?"

How is it that a Christian Minister can be prosecuted and jailed and none of the Muslim Preachers are even allowed to be "monitored" for their actions?

The definition of Islam is "SUBMISSION" and ever more slowly they are succeeding (though their efforts at Stealth Jihad aided and abetted by our Dear Leader and members of his Regime) in gaining more power and control over our lives and working towards silencing those who oppose Sharia.

[gusopol3]

Source? He advocated beating children until they bleed?

[BuffaloJack]

It’s official.
We have no Constitution.
The Liberals have make the USA into the Soviet Union of the Cold war.
The first amendment is no more.

[BuffaloJack]

It’s official.
We have no Constitution.
The Liberals have make the USA into the Soviet Union of the Cold war.
The first amendment is no more.

[SECURE AMERICA]

Pastor Sentenced To 2 Years In Prison For Teaching That Parents Should Spank Their Children,

Actually that is incorrect. The Pastor was sentenced for multiple counts of child abuse, which is a crime even for a pastor.

[kalee]

ATI? Blanket training?

[FES0844]

And soon they’ll be coming for those who preach that homosexuality is an abomination.

[sonofagun]

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. (WHBL) - Telling his church members they should use wooden rods to spank their infants and toddlers earns a former pastor in Black Earth a two-year prison sentence. Philip Caminiti was found guilty of eight counts of conspiracy to commit child abuse. He had told members of Aleitheia Bible Church those children were not too young to be hit as a way to teach them to behave. Caminiti told investigators his advice followed biblical teachings. After he serves his two-year sentence he won’t be allowed to have contact with that church or have any leadership role in any church.

[xzins]

Ping....any way to look up the facts on this case?

[sickoflibs]

Obviously there is more to this story than is posted above:

“Caminiti’s charges allege that two of the children beaten by followers of his doctrine were only two months old. When the beatings were stopped by authorities in 2010, the oldest victim was only five years old. Ironically, the pastor was well aware that the punishments were illegal and instructed congregants to never strike their children while out in public. He never personally participated in carrying out the abuse himself.
Caminiti’s brother, John, pleaded guilty last year to causing mental harm to a child and two counts of child abuse. He was sentenced to a year in prison and eight years of probation. Several members of Caminiti’s family are also facing child abuse charges.”
Pastor Who Preached Infants Should Be Beaten Convicted Of Child Abuse

[saywhatagain]

Judge Sumi refused to drop the charges, saying that although she believes Caminiti possesses "a sincerely held religious belief," the Christian pastor failed to show the court how the state's child abuse statute "places a burden on his sincerely held religious belief."

You write . . . "How is it that a Christian Minister can be prosecuted and jailed and none of the Muslim Preachers are even allowed to be "monitored" for their actions?"

That is exactly what I am thinking!

Also we speak an OPINION that is contrary to state law . . . WE CAN GO TO JAIL??

Uhmmmm maybe the liberals and Karl Marx is correct afterall. Good for a country to have a revolution once in awhile. Ready to rumble? http://global.christianpost.com/news/wisc-pastor-pleas-religious-freedom-in-child-abuse-case-judge-denies-motion-75011/

[Fred Nerks]

SOURCE LINK

...The children often were punished when they cried or failed to sit still during church services, a former church member told authorities. "Phil was very strict about children being quiet during church," the complaint states.

John Caminiti told investigators in November that he does not allow his family to communicate with people outside his religious beliefs and has punished his wife and son by confining them to their rooms until they corrected their disobedience, according to the Wisconsin State Journal...

-----------

it always pays to look a little further....

Philip Caminiti, left, the pastor of Aleitheia Bible Church in Black Earth, Wis., and his brother, John Caminiti, 45, have been charged with a dozen counts of child abuse for allegedly using wooden rods to punish children.

[sickoflibs]

He sounds like a psycho who was abused himself:

“During his testimony, Caminiti denied recommending using a rod on a child as young as two months old, but offered a different answer during a prosecutor's cross examination.
“Do you also recall telling the detectives that a child could be a few months old and be worthy of the rod?” Assistant Dane County District Attorney Shelly Rusch asked.
“I remember saying that,” Caminiti testified
.....
Caminiti testified the presence of bruises on a child was not an indication discipline had gone too far ”
Pastor offers contradictory testimony in child abuse trial

I don't just believe the title of every post here.