Michigan House Legislators To Compromise On Michigan Bullying Bill

After the controversial anti-bullying bill, "Michael's Safe School Law," passed in the Michigan senate last week, it was met with a whirlwind of criticism, causing GOP leaders to seek a compromise by altering it, the Detroit Free Press reports.

The article cites Ari Adler, spokesperson for Republican Speaker of the House Jase Bolger, in saying that Bolger is working on edits for the bill that will "bring everyone to the middle of the road and provide protection to all students."

Democrats in the Michigan House say the clause, which allows verbal bullying if there is a is a religious or strict moral reason, offers a "blueprint" for how to get away with harassment in schools, the Associated Press reports.

According to AP, Republicans in the House wish to refrain from listing motivations for bullying in the bill, since it would be impossible to cover everything, and "could exclude some students from protection."

When the bill passed in the state Senate, Dan Savage, creator of the "It Gets Better" project, told ABC News he believes the legislation gives bullies motivation.

"It's a law that specifically empowers students, teachers, administrators [and] principals to bully LGBT kids if they can point to a moral justification," he told ABC. "You have a right to your own religious beliefs. You don't have a right to inflict your private moral judgments on those people in a place where you are a public servant and an employee of the state.... Michigan should be ashamed of itself."

Although Adler reports Bolger is committed to ironing out the language of the bill, the Detroit Free Press writes that, for House Democrats, that may not be enough:

"It may not go far enough for Democrats who not only want the language struck, but want more specific language added to the legislation that would bar bullying students for specific instances, such as sexual orientation."

Comments

[Cheyla]

10:14 AM on 11/23/2011

Well, we all know that religion is about bullying, but do we need to make this legal in the USA? Religion is getting another free ride to do whatever they want to discriminate against minorities!

[Freddy4256]

10:56 AM on 12/08/2011

Here is another example of abusing "law" to force everyone to do what we should already do anyway! Any anti-bullying law just opens up another avenue for people to sue one another!

When this or any other anti- bullying law goes into effect, the kids will have to live in constant fear that anything, and I mean anything they say in a casual conversation at school can be construed as bullying. Liberals and liberal Lawmakers won't be happy until every one of our rights are gone and we live in constant fear of "offending" someone. Political correctness taken to the highest extreme.

All of you just keep asking the Government to create new "feel good" laws that watch and monitor our every move, our behaviour and even our speech, and they will gladly oblige until all freedoms are gone and they control every aspect of our lives, which is what they want.

Freddy

[PJSpadafore]

04:03 PM on 11/11/2011

It's "Matt's" Safe School Law...not Michael.

[islanddreamer]

08:54 PM on 11/09/2011

Compromise? Middle road? All bullying is wrong. Period. There is no middle road. It needs to stop and all kids need to be given the legal tools to stop it. Republican bullies in the Michigan Legislature need to be tarred and feathered and voted out of office. My religious and moral convictions demand it.

Kudos to Michigan Senator Gretchen Whitmer, a real adult, for speaking out forcefully against this despicable legislation. She deserves a place on the national stage as one of the most articulate and sensible state legislators in America.

[boston33]

06:47 PM on 11/09/2011

I fail to see why it would ever be necessary to me mean to a child. If you disagree with homosexuality because of your religion, if you need to say so, you can say so in a respectful manner. Every one of us has to encounter things we disagree with every day. Why do people who practice religion get a free pass for horrible behavior.

[SouthOfProgress]

12:20 PM on 11/09/2011

Typical. The christian exception.

When christians terrorize the pro choice community it isnt terrorism.
When they bully and taunt anyone outside their beliefs, its spreading the "good word" of the church.

This is garbage.
Its giving phony christians a cover for their intolerance.

[oldguru]

09:06 AM on 11/09/2011

So, abuse is just fine if god told you it was OK to take out YOUR OWN hostile feelings on a child? Did I get that right?

[mrld20]

09:46 PM on 11/08/2011

I'm ashamed that they added such an overly broad religious clause... It makes me sick...

[elizabethcity]

07:49 PM on 11/08/2011

I have one question about this bill. If two students are talking to each other and are heard saying to each other, "I don't agree with the LGBT agenda and I think what they do is sick and I agree that in the tenth amendment allows the states to determine if gay marriage should be allowed." As long as the students are talking to their selves, would this be considered bullying?

[DetroitMark]

06:44 AM on 11/09/2011

What this above lame comment is, is a teabagger trying to set up a "slippery slope"...a straw man that what people don't like is conversation.

No, teabagger...that's not bullying. Don't be such a hateful smart@ss.

[Clarence James]

10:03 AM on 11/09/2011

I'm not going to give you a pass on this because if they're standing in the middle of a bunch of kids they know are gay and are saying it so that they'll be overheard, then yeah, it is bullying.

The change to this law is incredibly stupid. You can always argue that any small thing about a person is against another persons religion or morals. There are plenty of religious extremist groups that would allow you to bully a person for just about any reason. Just tell the people who are hassling you that you belong to the Westboro Baptist Church and nothing will be off limits.

[KingCashio]

04:18 PM on 11/08/2011

These are the same people who are afraid of "Sharia law" taking over.

I'm far more afraid of people who would ok child abuse by rule of law so long as you are a religious wacko.

How does this silliness make sense?

[Rimser]

03:58 PM on 11/08/2011

There is no religious or moral reason to insert oneself into another's personal life. None.

[PTerrys]

03:59 AM on 11/09/2011

Well, that's the overstatement of the day.

No man is an island. Intervention is required for many reasons.

[happyblackman]

03:47 PM on 11/08/2011

This is my state, and it was shameful to see republicans draft a bill that was designed to encourage religious bullying and intolerance.

If a district is worth it's salt, it will anti-bullying language in its code of conduct for all students and staff. As mandatory reporters, teachers and administrators who do not report bullying are failing to do their jobs and should be bullied by the victim and their parents to have their jobs taken away. You can't wait for human behavior to change on its own. Ignorant people will bully and there will be those people who excuse it. However, a lawsuit will help them see the errors of their ways.

[YoureSoShain]

02:57 PM on 11/08/2011

This is an unnecessary law. YOU CANNOT LEGISLATE HUMAN BEHAVIOR, especially with kids. Are you nuts?

[Peter Everts]

03:22 PM on 11/08/2011

Fool. Laws are made to reward unacceptable behavior with punishment. Lobotomy much?

[BlackTom]

03:27 PM on 11/08/2011

RIght ?
Crimes are behaviors, which have been named illegal through legislation.
Like, it's against the law to engage in the behavior of robbing a store, etc.

[myline2]

02:35 AM on 11/11/2011

Yes, you can. Go read about the Jim Crow South...and take a look @ what the Civil Rights Act did to "legislate human behavior". Read the book "The Help" and consider IT [ and the ignorance of those who thought "negroes" needed separate bathrooms] in light of Civil Rights legislation. Behavior changes when people are held to a higher standard. Children need adults to provide them with that standard -- one that says there is NEVER any justification for tormenting another human being.

[mariusvinchi]

02:51 PM on 11/08/2011

So to conclude.....It's is acceptable to bully provided you have a "moral" or "religious" justification for doing so....Would this protection extend to Satanists who bully Christians? Christians who bully Muslims? Christians and Muslims bullying agnostics or atheists?

Can these ideologues be any more disconnected from reality?

[Peter Everts]

03:23 PM on 11/08/2011

You forgot atheists wacking religious nutcakes - I'm ready.

[SocratesFan]

07:39 AM on 11/09/2011

Actually, believe it or not, I'm no more in favor of atheists attacking religious people than I am of the reverse.

Yes, some of us liberals can see both sides of the issue.

[fr33d0mhawk]

02:48 PM on 11/08/2011

Before everyone gets to worked up over this bill, the Republicans are amending it to remove the fasco-religious exemption, aka the license to bully. Democrats did their job and held the GOPers feet to the fire, and the GOP is doing the right thing in spite of enormous tribal pressure to promote bullying and hatred, and institutionalize it in law. To me it shows that on occassion people can admit wrong and make right. What started out as a bill to incite bullying and give bullies legal protection, ended up being a bill to protect children from bullying. Its called turning lemons into lemonade.

[BlackTom]

02:43 PM on 11/08/2011

I can imagine a student surrounded by a circle of kids chanting "you're going to hell -ell", all nice and protected.
That's how the god-fearing republicans wrote the law.
So very christian of them.
Not.

[EmmaDarian]

02:47 PM on 11/08/2011

And the GOPers in favor of the exception want teachers, school staffers and parents to be able to join right in. The first linked article includes the part that Democrats objected to:

"But on the Senate floor Republicans added language that the policies would not prohibit “a statement of a sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction of a school employee, school volunteer, pupil, or a pupil’s parent or guardian.”"

[BlackTom]

03:28 PM on 11/08/2011

Ugh. Terrifying to contemplate. One would hope the authors of this travesty will be held to account in the next election.