Spanking Bill Vetoed; Fears of Abuse Cited

State law should allow parents to spank their children, Gov. Lawton Chiles said Friday as he vetoed a bill that would have done just that.

Chiles called the bill a “good-faith attempt” to balance the rights of parents and the protection of children. But he said the wording would have made it too difficult to prosecute cases of child abuse.

He urged state lawmakers to draft a new version during their special session next month.

“It is understandable in some disciplinary situations for parents to spank a child,” said Chiles, who acknowledged being on the giving and receiving end of spanking in his family. “I believe we need to clarify that Florida law allows this to be done.”

The bill he vetoed would have allowed spanking if it did not result in serious injury. The measure was approved by legislators on April 7.

The bill’s sponsor, state Sen. Jim Hargrett, a Tampa Democrat, had viewed the measure as a way to help fight youth crime by giving parents more leeway in disciplining their children.

Hargrett was not immediately available to respond to the governor’s veto, a spokesman said.

Child advocates urged Chiles to veto the bill because its definition of child abuse required “significant” bruises and welts.

Prosecutors opposed the bill because it required child abuse to be the result of “willful or intentional acts.” They warned that such language would raise their burden of proof and allow defendants to use intoxication as a defense.

Adah Maurer, executive director of End Violence Against the Next Generation Inc., a nonprofit advocacy group in Berkeley, Calif., said she did not know of any state that outlawed spanking by parents. She also said she did not know of any state that explicitly gave parents that right.

“It’s common law,” she said.