Michigan's 'Matt's Safe School Law,' Anti-Bullying Legislation, Exemption Dropped By Senator

Michigan-based lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) advocacy groups say they are relieved after an area senator agreed to drop a controversial exemption from a much-criticized anti-bullying law.

As the Religion News Service is reporting, Michigan Senator Rick Jones, a Republican, said he would drop his previously inserted carve-out for "a sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction" which many believed could allow LGBT, Muslim or other minorities to face harassment. Jones now says he will vote for the state's House of Representatives' version of the bill, which did not include the additional provision and requires all public, charter and intermediate school districts to implement the policy.

Though a spokesman for Equality Michigan, an LGBT rights group in Detroit, praised the changes, he was nonetheless pessimistic about the bill's overall impact. "We are grateful that this legislation moves forward without the license to bully based on an outrageous religious exception, but that said, it won't be effective," he said. Echoing those sentiments was Dawud Walid, executive director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, who said Muslims were “relieved” that the Senate bill, which he believed "would have been a disaster," is likely dead.

The Senate version of the bill -- named "Matt's Safe School Law" in honor of Matt Epling, a Michigan teen who committed suicide in 2002 after being bullied -- received a stinging reception from Senator Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat. A video of her dramatic floor speech, in which she slammed the bill as a "blueprint for bullying," went viral last week.

Also expressing distate with the new law was Epling's father Kevin. "This is government-sanctioned bigotry," Kevin is quoted by the Detroit Free Press as saying, adding that he is "ashamed" lawmakers agreed to add the special language at the last minute.

Watch video of Whitmer's speech below:

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article identified Matt Epling as having been gay. The Epling family has released a statement saying that he was not gay.

Comments

[truth be told again]

02:59 PM on 11/16/2011

OMG, someone actually listened to common sense.

No more special rights for the 'religious'.

[knotbryan]

11:55 AM on 11/16/2011

I've got an idea. Since bullying gay students has become such a popular sport, esp. among the religious wing nuts, and since bullying is now an acceptable right as a means of displaying one's moral or religious beliefs. Let's issue all lgbtq kids a pair of brass knuckles with which to defend themselves against a bully's attacks. We have the right, really an obligation to defend ourselves. And since bullying has caused so many kids to commit suicide This self defence is really fighting for your life. People are allowed to use deadly force to protect their own lives. Once a bully becomes a victim, they rarely continue to be a bully. Besides, you can't reason with the unreasonable.

[oozyc]

01:49 PM on 11/20/2011

I think we should give every gay teenager a gun. I wonder if the NRA might create a special group to help out.

[saraFF]

06:11 AM on 11/22/2011

(As Gregory House once noted: "Rational arguments don't usually work on religious people. Otherwise there would be no religious people.")

When I was in high school (in the Southeast)­, I was bullied for several months after I came out as an atheist (I think they eventually got bored of it). Several times teachers were right there are saw what was going on, and did nothing about it, so I was scared to try telling one of the other teachers. I've encountered other people who had similar experiences.

These days, it seems like political correctness demands that people be allowed to do anything i
in the name of religion. Remember how the SD legislature tried to legalize a certain form of religiously-based terrorism? (That's sort of redundant, of course; practically all terrorism is religiously-based.) Fortunately it failed this time, but I'm sure that won't be the last attempt. Same for religious bullying.

[BrendaNYC]

08:25 AM on 11/16/2011

The first step to ending bullying is to expose the bully. Bullies are by definition cowards and we are allowing them to hide in plain sight. I natter more here: http://heresheisboys.com/2011/11/16/the-white-hood-of-the-web/

[orest goyan]

05:15 PM on 11/15/2011

Freedom of religion and free speech are dead in Michigan; but GOD IS NOT ! You should read the Bible, and what God says about your plots - that he laughs at them.
Have you not heard that GOD is the smartest chess player in the Universe; and that it is ALWAYS your move; and the next move is Check-Mate!

[Valksy]

06:15 PM on 11/15/2011

Your god is an odious bully who demands that his followers love him and obey him or he'll hurt them and make them suffer.

And now you make him sound like a cheesy Bond villain.

Ridiculous.

[Misterioso Adversario]

06:28 PM on 11/15/2011

*yawn*

[Kevin Epling]

03:00 PM on 11/15/2011

Dear Huffington Post, as Matt's father I have posted on your sites previously and I seemed to be ignored just as the MI Senate ignore us. You are still stating incorrect information as noted below:

"named "Matt's Safe School Law" in honor of Matt Epling, a Michigan teen who committed suicide in 2002 after falling victim to anti-gay bullying"

We have no indication then or now that Matt's assault was based on sexual orientation. Your site even links directly to our son's site which denounces media for not checking their facts and sources and repeating erroneous information. Did anyone actually read the site before you linked it?
Please check it again, thank you.

[Misterioso Adversario]

06:29 PM on 11/15/2011

HuffPo is pretty good at not reporting things accurately, so I can't say that any of this surprises me.

[hawaiianstile]

12:03 PM on 11/15/2011

oh good it has been taken out.

[DDay52]

10:13 AM on 11/15/2011

For religious or moral reasons? Bullying is NEITHER moral nor religious. Republicans in Michigan should be ashamed of themselves for even letting this vile amendment see the light of day.

[OneSaneVoice]

11:37 PM on 11/15/2011

He is just trying to make sure that people aren't punished for expressing their beliefs. They don't want to allow bullying, but they also want to make sure people can hold a religious belief and not be punished or thought of as a bully. Just because I believe that something a person does is wrong doesn't mean I'm a bully. I agree that bullying is bad, but I should have the freedom to express my belief as my belief without worry that it might come across as bullying.

[LoyalBob]

09:17 AM on 11/16/2011

But if you beat or harass a person because of YOUR religious belief then you are still a bully. What are you afraid of? Someone might tell you that you can't walk around making others feel bad because you disagree with them?

Keep your beliefs to yourself and all will be well.

[ModishThing]

10:45 AM on 11/16/2011

Learn the difference between bullying and free speech:

Bullying is habitual, coercive, intimidating, emotionally and often physically aggressive behavior targeted at a weaker individual.

If you're particularly worried about exercising your right to free speech then don't do it in the manner of a bully.

[pfreddie88]

09:08 AM on 11/15/2011

Rick Jones needs to step off the moral high ground. He doesn't belong there and the altitude will make him sick.

[midwstrner]

07:57 AM on 11/15/2011

""Michigan Senator Rick Jones, a Republican, said he would drop his previously inserted carve-out for "a sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction" ""

Senator Jones doesn't realize that "carve out" already exists, it's called "the insanity plea."

[92102]

07:36 AM on 11/15/2011

Thanks to persistance and vigilance this "exemption" was deleted from Matt's law. I would suspect that this "exemption" was slipped into the law at the behest of a lobbyist for the evangelical right.

Don't be fooled by religion and especially the evangelical types. Their number one purpose is to inflict their rules and their version of sharia-like law on everyone else. They are well funded and have very experienced lobbyists working on their behalf. It's way past time for the IRS to investigate these organizations to see if they are following the laws in order to maintain their tax exempt status. I would bet that there are serious violations in many churches and other non-profit groups.

[saraFF]

08:04 AM on 11/22/2011

Fundamentalist (or "evangelical," as they are now calling themselves, in an effort to pretend they aren't as extremist as they really are) churches regularly, blatantly violate their 501(c)(3) status by engaging in lobbying or other political activities. Political correctness prevents them from being called out on it: they'd try to claim that their freedom of religion and speech were being violated (never mind that these are rules they are required to obey in exchange for the special tax-exempt status they enjoy).

[Dirk1]

07:07 AM on 11/15/2011

I wish the christians would just honestly come out and say they hate us and wish us harm.
It would be some much better than this 'love the sinner, hate the sin' lie they like to tell.
You can't add such exemptions to an anti-bullying bill unless you hate gay people. That is the only reason.

[TheEmptyMonty]

09:19 AM on 11/15/2011

Fanned and faved.

[ceeenbee]

11:47 AM on 11/15/2011

Agreed. The idiocy of "I love my gay friends" (but not enough to have them be happy) or "The love between same-sex people is a beautiful thing." (but not beautiful enough to be afforded equality) is a lame rationalization by these people to make themselves feel, or at least appear, to not be the bigots they actually are.

[Cynn Chadwick]

04:54 AM on 11/15/2011

My new hero.

[TommyObama]

02:27 AM on 11/15/2011

As one of Michigan's many gay sons, I want to thank Sen. Whitmer for standing up and shouting out. While I might not have had it as bad as some -- I played decent hockey -- I remember quite well the shame and tears and self-hatred that even low-level taunts can plant in an adolescent mind. Funny that from the insulation of 30 years, and thousands of miles, and a fair degree of career and partner success, I can still feel that ache. But mostly I feel for those kids who still have to live that way, despite all the social progress we have made. If anyone else thinks the brave and passionate Whitmer deserves some thanks, you can send her something for her upcoming campaigns: http://www.gretchenwhitmer.com/# Thanks again, Gretchen. Tom from the Sault.

[JTyroler]

01:06 AM on 11/15/2011

Well, that's an improvement over, "it's not okay to bully someone because you think they are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or queer, unless you have an issue about people being gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or queer" policy.

[Peace Walker]

11:17 PM on 11/14/2011

Michigan has some excellent women. Senator Whitmer, you are a righteous human being!

[TommyObama]

02:31 AM on 11/15/2011

She just made Gilda proud.