Referendum: UPDATE : 400 emails sent already – and counting!!!

UPDATE :

400 emails sent already – and counting!!!

Voters put heat on MPs
The Dominion Post today
MPs are being bombarded with emails from angry voters as Prime Minister John Key resists a law change in the wake of an overwhelming vote in the smacking referendum…..

WOULD YOU CONSIDER TAKING 2 MINUTES TO SEND AN IMPORTANT EMAIL?

The Message is Clear…

Decriminalise Light Smacking

Right-click here to download pictures. To help protect your privacy, Outlook prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. This morning, and in response to the whopping 88% who voted NO in the Referendum, John Key will be going to Cabinet to recommend ‘increased safeguards’, guidelines and ‘a level of comfort’ for parents under the anti-smacking law. But the Referendum wasn’t about ‘recommendations’, ‘guidelines’ or ‘comfort’ – it was about a law change .

As the law stands, a light smack is a criminal offence subject to whether the police agree it was ‘inconsequential’ and then whether CYF agree that you’re not an abusive parent (only after an investigation that may require your children to be removed temporarily). We’ve documented many cases where this interpretation would be completely different to what you and I would think ( see here).

PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO EMAIL THE MEMBERS OF CABINET

Almost all of these Ministers were in Opposition when the law was passed and actively lobbyed against the law change until they were ‘whipped’ to support the compromise – some even helped collect signatures and promoted the need for a Referendum! It’s not about John Key’s view – it’s about Cabinet listening to the almost 90% who voted NO in the Referendum

Step 1 : Simply highlight all emails, copy and paste in a new email.

Step 2 : Write a simply message which starts with something like
“Decriminalise Light Smacking – Please hear the voice of the 88% who voted against the anti-smacking law….” And then, if you want, add any additional comments – but at all times, PLEASE BE RESPECTFUL!

(We at Family Integrity recommned Larry Baldock’s plan here:

https://familyintegrity.org.nz/2009/referendumsection-59-the-way-forward/)

Step 3: Press SEND!

Thank you. Your voice really does count.

Right-click here to download pictures. To help protect your privacy, Outlook prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. Kind regards

Right-click here to download pictures. To help protect your privacy, Outlook prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.

Bob McCoskrie
National Director
PS Here’s an interesting quote we found

Excerpts from John Key’s speech on 17 April 2007

“Proponents of the bill say that doesn’t matter; that in reality no one is ever going to be prosecuted for lightly smacking their child. But if the reality is that no one is ever going to be prosecuted for lightly smacking their child, then don’t make it illegal. Don’t make it a crime. It’s poor law-making to write a very strict law and then trust the police and the courts not to enforce it strongly . The law shouldn’t depend on which police officer or which judge or which jury you happen to get on the day.”

“As I said before, the way you send a message is to make the law clear and precise and then to police it strongly and vigilantly. My colleague, Whanganui MP Chester Borrows, has put forward an amendment to Sue Bradford’s Bill that would do this. In my view, this is the correct response, and the one Parliament should adopt.”

(Family Integrity recommends Larry Baldock’s suggestion. Please take a moment to read this link:

https://familyintegrity.org.nz/2009/referendumsection-59-the-way-forward/)

The full text of John Key’s speech is on the National Party web site:
http://www.national.org.nz/files/_0_Key_Speech_17-04-07.pdf

http://www.familyfirst.org.nz

Referendum: UPDATE : 400 emails sent already – and counting!!!

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