With all of the stunts the modern GOP has pulled, you would think that nothing would shock me any more. But in the haste to throw up so many hideous laws, I think one stands out that has not gotten enough attention. In Missouri, the Republicans are working to put the right to abuse your own child into the state constitution. This is all being done because legislators want to make sure that parents can spank their kids. Why this should be a constitutional right might be worrisome enough, but the type of abuse that could be allowed could be much worse.
The bill's authors try to state that they are not sanctioning child abuse by putting in a provision that the state can "safeguard the welfare of a child whose life, health, or safety is in jeopardy," but is that enough? Probably not.
This sounds like a crackpot bill, but it has a serious chance of getting passed. It already passed the Missouri house by a 2/3 vote! I think we need to get the word out about what the GOP is doing, or a lot of kids will be hurt. This really seems to go way past even the rest of their agenda.
You can read the text here:
http://legiscan.com/...
and a summary of it passing here:
http://www.kansascity.com/...