Child Endangerment on Front Burner - Senate Bill 1 [Stealth trigger-lock bill]
According to Citizens for Safe Government (CSG) Governor Perdue has
said he will sign this bill if it reaches his desk.....
Sue Ella Deadwyler's WMVV Radio Commentary, 11/14/03
Have you noticed the media's recent focus on child endangerment? In the
last few weeks a special report was done on Channel 2's 6 o'clock news
lamenting the fact that Georgia does not have a child endangerment law.
This means S.B. 1 will be on the front burner in the 2004 legislative
session. It was introduced in this year's legislature, passed the
Senate, was amended in the House Judiciary Committee and debated on the
House floor the last day of the session. It ran into trouble when
several legislators tried to attach amendments to expand the definition
of an endangered child to include unborn children whose mothers want
them aborted. Those amendments were ruled out of order.
S.B. 1 didn't pass this year but is alive for the 2004 session. Since
it was tabled, it could be brought back to the House floor for debate
suddenly and unexpectedly. S.B. 1 makes several changes to Georgia
law. It creates a new crime. It divides the crime of cruelty to
children into first, second, and third degree and designates penalties
for each. It, also, extends the category of serious injury to include
sexual abuse of a child under 16 years old.
The new crime it creates is criminal negligence defined as "an act or
failure to act which demonstrates a willful, wanton, or reckless
disregard for the safety of others who might reasonably be expected to
be injured thereby." Such broad wording allows a lot of "wiggle room"
for interpretation and misapplication in situations that occur in normal
homes where it's impossible to predict or anticipate every move of every
child every minute of the day or night. Consider this. Could parents
be charged with disregarding the safety of others if their children are
allowed to play football in the back yard? After all, football is very
dangerous.
Such proposed changes became even more troublesome after I saw this
week's Channel 2 report of an actual video of a Georgia social worker
telling a single mother she was under investigation for making
derogatory remarks about their father to her children. Was that cruel
or excessive physical or mental pain? The question that comes to mind
is whether criticizing a parent causes children mental pain. It, also,
makes me wonder what ever happened to freedom of speech.
The last section of S.B. 1 extends the definition of serious injury to
include sexual abuse of a child under 16 years old. That's the good
part of S.B. 1, but it makes me wonder once again why schools can teach
unmarried school children they have a legal right to be sexually
active. Shouldn't such instruction come under the heading of a
"reckless disregard for the safety of others who might reasonably be
expected to be injured thereby?" Shouldn't educators, counselors and
medical personnel be charged with child endangerment when they supply
minors with instruction and equipment to engage in sexual activities
that put them at risk of mental anguish, disease and even death?
According to Citizens for Safe Government (CSG) Governor Perdue has
said he will sign this bill if it reaches his desk.....
Sue Ella Deadwyler's WMVV Radio Commentary, 11/14/03
Have you noticed the media's recent focus on child endangerment? In the
last few weeks a special report was done on Channel 2's 6 o'clock news
lamenting the fact that Georgia does not have a child endangerment law.
This means S.B. 1 will be on the front burner in the 2004 legislative
session. It was introduced in this year's legislature, passed the
Senate, was amended in the House Judiciary Committee and debated on the
House floor the last day of the session. It ran into trouble when
several legislators tried to attach amendments to expand the definition
of an endangered child to include unborn children whose mothers want
them aborted. Those amendments were ruled out of order.
S.B. 1 didn't pass this year but is alive for the 2004 session. Since
it was tabled, it could be brought back to the House floor for debate
suddenly and unexpectedly. S.B. 1 makes several changes to Georgia
law. It creates a new crime. It divides the crime of cruelty to
children into first, second, and third degree and designates penalties
for each. It, also, extends the category of serious injury to include
sexual abuse of a child under 16 years old.
The new crime it creates is criminal negligence defined as "an act or
failure to act which demonstrates a willful, wanton, or reckless
disregard for the safety of others who might reasonably be expected to
be injured thereby." Such broad wording allows a lot of "wiggle room"
for interpretation and misapplication in situations that occur in normal
homes where it's impossible to predict or anticipate every move of every
child every minute of the day or night. Consider this. Could parents
be charged with disregarding the safety of others if their children are
allowed to play football in the back yard? After all, football is very
dangerous.
Such proposed changes became even more troublesome after I saw this
week's Channel 2 report of an actual video of a Georgia social worker
telling a single mother she was under investigation for making
derogatory remarks about their father to her children. Was that cruel
or excessive physical or mental pain? The question that comes to mind
is whether criticizing a parent causes children mental pain. It, also,
makes me wonder what ever happened to freedom of speech.
The last section of S.B. 1 extends the definition of serious injury to
include sexual abuse of a child under 16 years old. That's the good
part of S.B. 1, but it makes me wonder once again why schools can teach
unmarried school children they have a legal right to be sexually
active. Shouldn't such instruction come under the heading of a
"reckless disregard for the safety of others who might reasonably be
expected to be injured thereby?" Shouldn't educators, counselors and
medical personnel be charged with child endangerment when they supply
minors with instruction and equipment to engage in sexual activities
that put them at risk of mental anguish, disease and even death?
