Ban Spanking in Massachuetts What??

I just read an article in my local paper about how state legistation(sp?) in Massachuetts is trying to ban corporal punishment (aka spanking) as illegal and if caught spanking or hitting your child under the age of 18 will be considered abuse and neglect and jail time will be considered! What the Fuck! When did spanking your child become such a bad issue, now I do give my son a quick wack on the butt if he does something really bad or after several time outs don't seem to be working, but considering it abuse is just down right stupid and taking away the rights of the parent to punish their child how they see fit.
I used to live in SC where corporal punishment is still allowed in the school, but the parent has to sign a form for approval, now this should be in effect in most schools I think since maybe the kids will behave more. I was spanked as a child and probably several people on here as well and it didn't screw me up at all. I'm 27 yrs old and still respect my parents and other people. Also as being a parent I don't think its wrong to spank your child if it keeps them in line and after several other punishments don't seem to work and if you are a parent of a young child you will agree that half the time, shoot most of the time, TIME OUTS DON'T ALWAYS WORK OR EVER AT ALL in case of the child and who he or she is. It seems more and more lately the government is taking away more parents rights. Am I not the only one who thinks this?