Stop kow-towing to tide of squeamishness, paranoia

Come again? The Bee informs us that Bonner County is prosecuting a man for sexual abuse because he touched the part of a child where breasts would be if she were old enough to have breasts. It looks funny, but it's very sad. 

Public officials — prosecutors, judges, lawmakers — need to stop kow-towing to the tide of squeamishness and sexual paranoia overwhelming the justice system, a tide that threatens to suppress the expression of all natural, healthy affection. We have already reached the point where a teacher is afraid to hug a crying child. I wonder: is it OK to pick up a kid who falls from his bicycle?

JIM PAYNE

Sandpoint