“Pro-family” groups have a much more invasive agenda with regards to legislating how you raise your children.
Most of the public sentiment against the repeal of section 59 of the crimes act (frequently referred to by detractors as the “anti-smacking bill”) seems to be in response to the idea that the Labour government is trying to impose its principles and values on the people of New Zealand against their will.
The irony of this is that the campaign against the bill is being led by members of church based “pro-family” organisations.
The agenda of these groups is quite openly stated. They wish for the model of family as set out by their church to be a greater part of the government of our country.
The repeal of section 59 could be said to have an ideological basis, perhaps the idea of non-violent conflict resolution.
The intention of the law is primarily to prevent children from being seriously physically harmed.
This seems to me an appropriate function of government. Where possible governments should act to protect vulnerable parties who might not have other avenues of assistance.
Something much more debatable is whether the values of a religious group should be applied to a nation by its government.
A lot of these groups attack the government for not using language that reinforces their positions on models of the family. They somehow interpret non-denominational terminology as an assault on their own right to go about their lives as they please.
Nothing from my personal experience points to the idea that the Christian model of the family is better for society than any other. I know several people raised by gay parents and they are some of the best and most well adjusted people I know. On the other hand I have known people raised in conservative families who have been very troubled. I don’t think there is any consistent or clear cut rule in either case.
The general public should be much more outraged by the idea that one religion would want to push its values through government, more so than in the case of government acting to correct a law that was allowing physically abusive parents to go unchecked.
Larry Baldock and his followers have kicked up a huge fuss by misleading the public on this bill, ultimately all they have done is shown how much resistance there is to their own cause.
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