Attorney General Douglas B. Moylan unveiled this month’s “Parents Teach Respect” billboard campaign under the theme “Creating a Better Island through Disciplined Kids,” emphasizing parental rights, discipline, and community values as key to building a stronger Guam.
The release highlights that both the Organic Act of Guam and the U.S. Constitution protect a parent’s fundamental right to raise their child. Guam law, cited under 9 GCA § 7.94, allows for corporal punishment as a form of discipline within reasonable limits. Moylan said his office supports parents who teach respect for others through love and discipline, while distinguishing lawful discipline from child abuse. “Child abuse is defined as cruel mistreatment of a child, which reflects the other end of the spectrum to be avoided,” he said.
Moylan’s message points to the importance of instilling respect and accountability in children early on, describing discipline as foundational to developing good students, athletes, and citizens. “Every generation plays a role in raising and indoctrinating our progeny to become who we’d want them to become,” the release stated, adding that disciplined children “become parents themselves and productive, law-abiding members of our adult community.”