Bullying | Be a Seed for Change

Stop Michigan‘s “license to bully” bill

When Katy Butler was in junior high, bullies who called her a “dyke” slammed a locker door on her hand. Katy never reported the assault because she was afraid her school wouldn’t do anything to help.

If the Michigan state Senate has its way, Katy’s school won’t have to help students bullied in the future, either.

Last week, the Michigan state Senate passed an anti-bullying bill. But minutes before they voted, Republican lawmakers inserted special language into the bill to create a huge loophole: Bullying done because of a “sincerely held religious or moral conviction” isn’t covered by the law.

Rather than protecting students, the new law actually provides a road map that teaches kids how to bully — and how to get away with it.

Katy and her friend Carson Borbely know what it’s like to be bullied for who they are. They started a Change.org petition demanding that the state legislature enact a strong anti-bullying law with no exceptions. Click here to sign their petition.http://www.change.org/petitions/help-michigan-students-stop-the-license-to-bully-bill?

The Michigan House of Representatives will consider the Senate’s weak anti-bullying bill soon. Katy and Carson want them to strengthen the bill and eliminate the religious exemption inserted by the state Senate, and Change.org members are rallying around their demand.

Some legislators are wavering in the face of public outrage, and Republican Speaker of the House Jase Bolger is now said to be considering a stronger, more comprehensive version of the bill. But Katy and Carson need your help to keep up the pressure.

Please sign Katy and Carson’s petition demanding the Michigan House of Representatives pass an anti-bullying law that will actually protect students:

http://www.change.org/petitions/help-michigan-students-stop-the-license-to-bully-bill

Thanks for being a change-maker,

– Eden and the Change.org team

She was a model student and a star athlete – an honest young woman in her final year at a private Christian high school, The Master’s School, in Connecticut.

But when school administrators asked her about her sexual orientation, she answered courageously and honestly that she is a lesbian.

And then those same administrators told her to withdraw or she would be kicked out.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students across the country are back in school, many facing bullying from peers. The last thing these students need is a school administration that refuses to protect them from unfair treatment.

Thousands of equality supporters like you have already sent letters to officials at The Master’s School calling on them to make it right and protect all of their students. Will you send a letter now, too?

Tell The Master’s School: Your LGBT students deserve protection – not expulsion. Now’s the time to enact a non-discrimination policy so that all students feel safe to be who they are.

National Coming Out Day was just last week and Spirit Day is Thursday – it’s a time each year when we celebrate openness and speak out against bullying. Together, we’re striving to create a world where no student, no soldier, no employee – no one – has to fear coming out.

In too many places around this country, LGBT students risk expulsion, bullying, and harassment that jeopardizes their academic futures and their emotional well-being.

The Master’s School in Connecticut has a chance to make it right with the student they asked to leave. They have an opportunity to lead by example – to institute modern-day policies, and to bring their model student back into their community.

Will you take one minute to send a letter to The Master’s School right now? Tell them to update their policies and treat all their students fairly.

The path to equality has taken us together on a lot of twists and turns. The Master’s School, with HRC‘s help, can become a model environment for diversity and tolerance in education, but they need to take the first step now and make things right.

Thanks for standing with us now and always.

Warmly,

Joe Solmonese
President, HRC