Opponents of the proposed ban formed an organization called Be Reasonable, which is also backed by the Christian Institute. The group’s published polling indicates that 76 percent of parents and the wider public don’t support the Welsh government’s proposal.

Lowri Turner, campaign spokeswoman for Be Reasonable, details the group’s belief that parents who lovingly discipline their children shouldn’t be subject to prosecution for doing so. She further states that bringing such a ban into place will result in the criminalization of loving and caring parents.

“It’s up to parents to decide how and when they discipline their children,” declares Turner. “It is not the government’s job to do that.” According to the group’s polling, 77 percent of parents agree with that.

Sociologist Dr. Ashley Frawley agrees as well, believing the proposed law to be both unneeded and potentially harmful to children. Frawley explains that current Welsh law – something called the “reasonable chastisement defence” [sic] – already protects children from any potential abuse or attack.

“By changing the [current] legislation, you actually put children at more risk,” argues Frawley. “Overstretched services are already trying to deal with very serious cases, and what you’re doing is opening the floodgates to a wide range of very trivial sorts of cases.”

According to Be Reasonable, the proposed ban would remove from Welsh law the defense of “reasonable chastisement.”

Frawley also suggests that such an open floodgate could result in the entire legal system being bogged down. Accordingly, Be Reasonable has launched an online petition drive against the proposal.