Conservative Christians Are Fighting an Alabama Bill That Would Protect Kids At Childcare Centers

[muriel_volestrangler]

Because profit using religion as a cover is more important to them than the health and saefty of children:

he’s been called a crook. A con artist. A snake in the grass. But in Alabama, the only thing that really matters to state regulators is that she calls herself a Christian.
...
Each of her day cares has been dogged by complaints of abuse and neglect. Workers said she hit children with flyswatters, locked them in closets or rapped them with rulers. She’s failed to pay so many employees that one reportedly slapped her in the face and another threatened to hurl a pickle jar at her, according to police reports.

She has been arrested multiple times, for crimes ranging from theft to child endangerment.

In total, Deborah Stokes has operated at least a dozen Christian day cares across southern Alabama. Every time she is chased out of town by furious parents, workers or landlords, she reopens in the next town over. In the process, she has collected at least $86,000 in taxpayer funding to run her day cares with almost no oversight.

https://www.revealnews.org/article/she-runs-disastrous-day-cares-but-her-church-makes-her-untouchable/

Horrible, right? And she wasn’t an anomaly. There were roughly 80 religious childcare centers that were branded as religious, in some cases getting that branding “just days” after regulators shut down their previous (secular) childcare centers for crossing the line.

The solution here would be to pass legislation requiring all childcare facilities to be licensed, requiring them to meet certain standards with regards to basic health and safety measures.

And that bill, HB 277, is currently being discussed and debated in the Alabama House.

Conservative Christians, as usual, are furious. They see this as a violation of their religious freedom, because they think they should have the right to harm kids however they want.

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2017/03/15/conservative-christians-are-fighting-an-alabama-bill-that-would-protect-kids-at-childcare-centers/

Alabama is one of only seven states that allow child care centers to operate without regular inspection if they are part of a church ministry. State law exempts church-affiliated child care from DHR oversight, but does say centers should be inspected by the fire and health departments.
...
"There are excellent church-affiliated day cares," said Rep. Pebblin Warren, D-Tuskegee, who sponsored the bill. She said her grandchildren attend a church day care that she loves, but that her grandson was victimized at another church day care that operated without a license.
...
"The grass on the playground was higher than the kids' play equipment," she said. &quot The owner) had about 90 kids in this school. They had about three teachers for 90 kids."

Mears said it's unfair to force churches to comply with a government regulation because some individuals take advantage of the system by using a church affiliation to avoid regulation and cut costs.

http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2017/03/conservative_christian_groups.html

Yes, that's right, the people trying to keep the "religious schools" unregulated are either so brain dead or think their fellow religionists are so brain dead that their argument is "not all the religious centres are awful, therefore regulating them would be unfair to the good ones". They seem to want the religious exemption just because it is a religious exemption, even if it brings religion into disrepute.

[guillaumeb]

1. Recommended. The good ones will have no problems dealing with regulation,

and the abusive ones should be put out of business and prosecuted for any crimes committed.

[trotsky]

3. But why are you infringing on their right to practice their religion as they see fit? n/t

[guillaumeb]

4. "Render unto Caesar..............."

And I trust that you know the rest of the quotation.

[trotsky]

6. Explain how it pertains to this situation.

Because I know that conservative Christians would argue that it means the state needs to butt out of how they run religious daycare centers.

[guillaumeb]

7. Follow the law.

There are laws against assault.

[trotsky]

8. There are laws against using hallucinogenic substances.

But there is a religious exception for peyote.

[guillaumeb]

9. So using peyote according to the law is legal.

And.......................?

[trotsky]

10. Because a religion said so.

These people's religion says it's ok to physically discipline their children.

That's why they argue they deserve the same kind of exception.

Religious privilege in action.

[guillaumeb]

12. Peyote is legal in some instances because the LAW allows it.

As far as I am aware, assault is illegal in all states. So if discipline rises to the level of assault, it should be prosecuted.

I fail to see the relevance.

[Angry Dragon]

14. When money changes hands it becomes a business and the christian holy book

says nothing about christians have a right to start a business ........
If they want to do day cares for free .....that would be good

[FiveGoodMen]

2. "Spare the rod and spoil the child"

Or, more literally...

"He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes."

-- King James Bible, Proverbs 13:24

These monsters actually want children to be beaten.

[guillaumeb]

5. Please allow me:

First of all the aforementioned “rod” is not the rod of a stick to beat your child with, it is the rod as in “thy rod and thy staff comfort me,” the familiar refrain from the 23rd Psalm. In other places, particularly throughout all of Psalms, the rod is referred to as strength as in, “the Lord is my rod and fortress,” as mentioned in Psalm 18:2 and 31:3. Or “He is my rod and my salvation,” in Psalm 61:2 and 62:6. Throughout Genesis in particular we get references to the rod as a sceptre or staff that is carried by royalty, Pharaohs, and enlightened spiritual beings like Moses or Gods like Zeus.

So there are Biblical literalists, and there are those who read for meaning.

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/theprinciplesofspiritualliving/2014/11/the-truth-about-spare-the-rod-and-spoil-the-child/

[guillaumeb]

13. So because this interpretation conflicts with the interpretation offered by another,

what is your conclusion?

[Lordquinton]

17. So your interpretation is more valid than any other?

That a book can be taken so many different ways, yet is held as absolute truth makes things problematic for religion. Which is why I say Yes all religions, because you're insisting that verse should stay in the bible because you can interpret it creatively gives cover to the people who use it to abuse children.

[Lordquinton]

15. Yes all religion

There should be no exemptions for religious operations. treat them the same as any other business of the same type.

[Angry Dragon]

16. +10,000