Inclusive Bullying Bill Introduced

Special Report - March 26, 2009
Sixty-two of the 120 members of the North Carolina State House of Representatives have signed onto a bill that would require all school boards to have stated policies “prohibiting bullying or harassing” any student for any reason by December 31, 2009. HB 776 — No Bullying Anyone at Public Schools would bolster a State Board of Education policy approved in 2004 requiring that “Each local board of education shall develop and maintain policies and procedures to prevent, intervene, investigate, document and report all acts of harassment, bullying or discrimination no later than January 2005.” HB 776 would direct that “No student or school employee shall be subjected to bullying or harassing behavior by school employees or students” and requires that “each local school administrative unit … adopt a policy prohibiting bullying or harassing behavior.” This bill is in contrast to the pro-homosexual HB 548 — School Violence Prevention Act, which also mandates a statewide anti-bullying policy, but requires the inclusion of language to highlight specific characteristics of bully victims including their “sexual orientation” and “gender identity or expression.”

As one of numerous attempts to legitimize “alternative” sexual behaviors, homosexual activists are attempting to use bullying in schools as an excuse to introduce the terms “sexual orientation” and “gender identity or expression” into North Carolina statutes for the first time. This would effectively affirm and legitimize homosexuality, bisexuality, cross dressing, and other “alternative” sexual behaviors in our public schools and would assure the discussion of these topics with school children on a regular basis.

The motivation of proponents of the pro-homosexual so-called “Bullying Bill” became clear during the last session of the General Assembly when it passed the House after an amendment to remove the enumerations section of the bill was defeated by a single vote. The Senate, then, stripped the enumerations from the bill to make it a policy to protect all children from all bullying without prejudice as to certain characteristics of the victim. Bill sponsor Rep. Rick Glazier (D–Cumberland) rejected that version of the bill, showing the clear intention of the bill to be the inclusion of the pro-homosexual language related to “sexual orientation” and “gender identity or expression.”

HB 776 is currently waiting to be discussed in the House Education committee.

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