Update on Bullying Bill in Michigan

A happy ending to an earlier post about a bullying bill in Michigan.  Originally, the bill allowed an exception to bullying on the basis of religion.  Fortunately, that has changed since then:

Michigan's state Senate dropped a bill Tuesday that critics called "a license to bully," and instead adopted a House version that represents a compromise among Republican lawmakers in a more comprehensive piece of legislation that would require anti-bullying policies in schools.

After the Senate passed the controversial anti-bullying bill, "Matt's Safe School Law," earlier this month, a wave of criticism poured in to lawmakers. The staunch opposition stemmed from a provision in the bill's language that permitted harassment by teachers and students if they can claim that their actions are rooted in a "sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction."

That fact such an amendment was put into place to begin with is absolutely shocking.  But given how the Republican Party currently exists, I must say that one can never underestimate the power of stupid or cruel. And when I talk about the Republican Party, I don't mean the extremes or fringe elements of the party; I mean the mainstream of the party.

The need to explain why such a proposal was a terrible idea to begin with seems almost preposterous.  But Michigan Democratic Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer did an excellent job of explaining why such a proposal was both asinine and cruel when the provision was first put into the bill.

Bullying is bad . . . Unless It's Done For Religious Rerrasons

Absolutely amazing:

Michigan Republicans turned what was supposed to be a new law protecting victims of bullying into a law pretty much declaring open season on them, thanks to a last-minute clause exempting anyone who can provide a moral or religious reason for their harassment.

"Matt's School Safe Law," which just passed in the state Senate and is now moving on to the House of Representatives, is named after Matt Epling, a gay teenager who committed suicide as a result of bullying. However, the president of the American Family Association of Michigan explained that the bill had to include the "religious motivations" loophole to prevent it from becoming "a Trojan Horse for the homosexual agenda."

I expect this kind of thing to happen in the South, or even where I live in Kansas. Not Michigan. So disappointing.