Corporal Punishment Legislation in Massachusetts

I haven't heard yet how Massachusetts bill to ban corporal punishment fared in committee yesterday (the hearing was not well attended). But here is the link to the bill if you would like to read it. House bill 3922 says "CORPORAL PUNISHMENT OF CHILDREN IS 5 PROHIBITED. Corporal Punishment of children violates their rights 6 to safe, secure and respectful care." And the bill defines corporal punishment as "the willful infliction of physical pain or 21 injurious or humiliating treatment."

According to Kerri Madru of CBS affiliate THV, the bill cannot be up for official debate until next year since the legislative session has already ended in Massachusetts.

When any action is taken on the bill it should be listed here.


As you may have heard a legislator in Massachusetts is proposing a ban on corporal punishment which actually goes beyond even the most generous definition of the phrase. This bill would make "the willful infliction of physical pain or injurious or humiliating treatment" against the law in Massachusetts. There is no doubt that this will include spanking but who knows how anyone such as a social worker or judge could define "humiliating treatment".


According to HSLDA, a group of attorneys who are fighting the bill, "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."

Watch this topic being discussed tonight on MSNBC national television and tomorrow morning on FOX stations.


Go here for action steps to take.