Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Update: Child abuse and the Penn State horrors: Casey strikes out

            Taking knee-jerk idiocy to the ultimate level, Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey (D-Pa.) has introduced legislation to coerce every state into passing a law to require anyone and everyone to report any and every suspicion of child maltreatment to child protective services or the police.  It’s co-sponsored by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Ca.).

            The federal government can’t force the states to do this directly.  But Casey’s bill would withhold federal aid under the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act from states that refuse.

            For all of the reasons described in the post below, the best title for this bill would be the Helping Child Abusers Get Away With It Act of 2011.