Free Republic

ASSEMBLYWOMAN Sally Lieber, D-Mountain View, has announced that she will introduce a bill this week to make it a crime to spank children who are 3 years old or younger, punishable by up to a year in jail or a $1,000 fine. If this zany idea were to become law, California could be the place where the nanny state meets the authoritarian state. It is more than ironic that a politician who wants to make it illegal for parents to apply their flat hands to their babies' bare bottoms is more than happy to allow the heavy hand of the...

(AP) California parents could face jail and a fine for spanking their young children under legislation a state lawmaker has promised to introduce next week. Democratic Assemblywoman Sally Lieber said such a law is needed because spanking victimizes helpless children and breeds violence in society. "I think it's pretty hard to argue you need to beat a child," Lieber said. "Is it OK to whip a 1-year-old or a 6-month-old or a newborn?" Lieber said her proposal would make spanking, hitting and slapping a child under 4 years old a misdemeanor. Adults could face up to a year in jail...

SACRAMENTO - Growing up in Austria, Arnold Schwarzenegger said he ``got smacked about everything.'' But when it comes to disciplining his four children, Schwarzenegger said he and his wife ``never'' resort to spanking. As governor, Schwarzenegger on Thursday expressed an open mind to a controversial proposal that would ban parents from spanking a child under the age of 3. He hinted that he has concerns about how the bill could be enforced -- ``Is it that when you see someone spank a kid, you go and say, `Can I see the birth certificate of the kid?' '' But he didn't...