California Assemblywoman Sally Lieber is taking heat for her controversial suggestion that spanking children age three and younger be made a misdemeanor. While the childless Mountain View Democrat � whom we presume does not hit her one cat � hasn’t introduced an antispanking bill just yet, her idea has gotten a ton of media coverage. Yet it’s not the first time a ban on spanking has been bandied about by local pols � in 1999, the Oakland City Council narrowly nixed a measure to become the country’s very first “no-spanking zone.”
In a local CBS 5 poll, 57 percent of adults booed such a bill, while 23 percent said they’d give it a thumbs-up. Our tender governor, who told MediaNews that he got “smacked about everything” as a kid growing up in Austria but has always been hands-off with his own children, is reportedly a cautious supporter at this point.
If Lieber fails in her quest, how about a compromise: No spanking in public? Seems that’d be something everyone could agree on.
Back to 92510, the East Bay Express news blog.
