Assembly Rejects Paddling as Punishment

Tossing aside the notion that sparing the rod spoils the child, the Assembly rejected a measure Wednesday that would have let judges order the paddling of youthful graffiti vandals by parents in court.

The vote came as a handful of Republicans joined with a bloc of Democrats to defeat the measure, which drew national attention when it was first introduced after the notorious Singapore caning of American teenager Michael Fay in 1994.

Assemblyman Mickey Conroy (R-Orange), the bill’s author, conceded defeat after the bill got only 28 of the 41 votes needed for passage. The defeat was the second in two days for a Conroy bill dealing with corporal punishment. On Tuesday, the Assembly soundly rejected legislation that would have repealed the state’s decade-old ban on corporal punishment in the classroom.

Once again, Democrats voted virtually en mass against the legislation. Assemblyman Willard Murray (D-Paramount) was the only defector, noting that Conroy’s bill would allow paddling as a two-year experiment while expressing frustration that graffiti has proliferated despite abatement efforts.

The Democrats were joined by several moderate Republicans who argued that the notion of reintroducing paddling went too far.

“Paddling, corporal punishment, it’s a concept whose time has come and gone,” said Assemblyman Bruce McPherson (R-Santa Cruz), who was joined by Republicans Jim Cunneen of Cupertino, Steve Kuykendall of Rancho Palos Verdes and Brooks Firestone of Los Olivos to cast pivotal votes against Conroy’s measure.

Conroy, meanwhile, argued that his paddling bill simply would “put another tool in a judge’s hand” to get the attention of unruly youthful vandals. He said that 40% of the juvenile vandals in Los Angeles sentenced to graffiti cleanup simply do not show up.

“I want these juveniles to know they’ll be held accountable for their actions,” Conroy said.

Conroy’s measure would have given judges unprecedented authority to order juvenile graffiti vandals whacked on the bottom up to 10 times with a wooden paddle wielded by a parent. If the parent refused to mete out the punishment or failed to deliver an adequate blow, a bailiff would take up the paddle.

Citing a California Highway Patrol study that found graffiti cleanup costs tallied $5 billion nationwide last year, Conroy maintained that a good paddling could turn around troubled children before they fell into a life of lawlessness.

Foes countered that such arguments are nonsense, citing studies that show paddling and other forms of humiliating physical punishment teach children the wrong lessons about violence while breeding resentment and anger among confused adolescents.

“Violence begets violence,” Assemblywoman Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica) said, adding that “there is no evidence that beating a child . . . makes them understand the difference between right and wrong.”

Assemblyman Antonio Villaraigosa (D-Los Angeles) said the 16-inch-long paddle was “roughly akin to a baseball bat” and could be used on children as young as 6 or 7 over the objections of their parents if a judge ordered it. Conroy, however, argued that judges would act as ready guardians against problems in court.