Scotland make smacking illegal. They must be crime free.

What annoys me about this is that there are laws that cover assault, safeguardung in schools and now smacking a child could result in being imprisoned with hardened criminals
Nanny and state comes to mind.

 

Being discussed on R5Live at the moment (until 10.00)

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-41678797

Given that this is not yet law, I'm amazed that the OP knows the sentencing guidelines for anyone convicted.

The news report above gives more accurate details than the OP. The part that stands out for me is that this proposal is designed to give children the same protection from assault that adults currently have. It's easy to toss terms like "nanny state" into a discussion but perhaps a little harder to explain why there should be more legal consequences for hitting an adult than for hitting a child.

 

As I am now of an age where the responsibility for disciplining children is almost entirely the responsibility of the younger generation I am not going to enter this debate.
However I should point out that, until this law goes through, "smacking" is not legally considered to be assault in the UK.
Whether it should be or not I will leave you all to argue about

 

Given the lack of rational arguments from the pro-violence lobby I'll just have to assume they like hitting children.

 

.... and so it begins

 

Oh dear.

 

I think it began with the OP, no?

 

Possibly. The responses were certainly inevitable from then on.
I suspect though, that the real blame lies with the Scottish Govt....

 

Following the logic of the thread title... is there a hierarchy of crime?

So if a murder has occurred does that mean the police should de-prioritise a theft? Should the police not pursue speeding drivers if a sexual assault has occurred... interesting...

 

The Scottish Greens...

 

I don’t think hitting anyone solves anything.

 

Yes, it was the Scottish Greens who proposed the anti smacking bill.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/15606219.SNP_says_it_will__ensure__smacking_ban_becomes_law/

By the way, under Scots law, smacking children is known as "justifiable assault". Justifiable assault... wow.

 

There is no justification.

"But I smacked it to stop it crossing the road!"

No, grabbing it by the hand before it stepped off the pavement is what stopped it crossing the road.

Smacking it might make it more cautious in future. But so might talking to it. Try explaining. Or put it on reins.

 

I have no qualms about being anti-smacking. I was smacked/hit with items/assaulted by my mother as a child and young teenager and I still feel affected by it. I know my big sister does too. The rage never goes away. I've never once hit my own kid.

 

And this is me as a relatively privileged and well adjusted member of society. What about those people who never had the luck that I eventually had?
I think there are some grey areas here, and no, people who give their children a light smack on the bum shouldn't be criminalised, but I can't help feeling glad that anti-smacking is going to be law in my country.

 

Hitting is hitting is hitting.

If you wouldn't do it to your partner or a stranger then don't do it to a child.

 

I certainly hope so.

Imminent terrorist threat - other stuff gets put on hold.

Someone murders my next door neighbour - less effort put into cyclists riding without lights*.

* assuming it is possible to put in less than no effort.

I agree entirely. There was a phone in on the radio earlier, tbh I thought it already was illegal and don't feel compelled to make it legal so, yes it should be illegal.

I've known several children I taught who were regularly smacked by their parents and who were a ringing endorsement for the ineffectiveness of doing so. We didn't smack our two and never had any behavioural problems with them at all. Smacking if anything is indicative of an ineffective parent.

 

You often hear the argument "x - y - z happened to me and look at me - I'm alright".

There was one man who called into the radio show who said he and his sisters were regularly smacked as children and grew up thinking that hitting others was a way of resolving problems, something that caused them all problems in later life that they had to learn to rise above.

I was thinking of the other oft quoted excuse, the anti-danger-smack. I have a small workshop attached to the garage, if Mrs. M. was in there with me and about to do something that might cause her to lose a finger in the next second, I'd shout, or grab her hand/arm to stop it, I wouldn't dream of a smack, why do people think it's ok with children.

 

'Grabbing by the hand' could fall foul of the 'no hitting' law, according to some contributors on R5Live this morning....