A Stitch in Haste

In the wake of the "leave the kid alone with the vicious dog" lethal parent and the "leave the kid alone in the laundromat" lethal parent, and of course don't forget the "use the kid as a human shield" lethal parent, we now have the "better dead than gay" lethal parent:

Even though the boy would shake and wet himself, his father, Ronnie Paris Jr., would box with the 3-year-old, slapping him in the head until he cried because he didn't want his son to grow up to be "a sissy," the boy's mother testified Monday.

Others corroborated Nysheerah Paris' testimony as the prosecution built its case during the first day of the capital murder trial of Ronnie Paris Jr., 21, accused of abusing 3-year-old Ronnie Paris until the boy slipped into a coma Jan. 22. He died six days later with swelling on both sides of his brain.

"He was trying to teach him how to fight," said Shanita Powell, Nysheerah Paris' sister. "He was concerned that the child might be gay."

Paris was convicted of second-degree murder and aggravated child abuse today.

To me this is the last great unresolved libertarian conundrum. On the one hand, you want to leave parents alone to raise their children as they see fit. But on the other hand you see what a god-awful job so many parents make of it and ask whether the rights of the children to have a fair shot at life don't take precedence.

You can ban pit bulls, you can ban non-child-safe washing machines, you can even ban the use of deadly force by police in combat situations. But I ask yet again:

How do you ban a lethal parent?

Simultaneous hat tips to Dolphin and Republic of T.