Photo: John Steven Fernandez, Flickr

Anti-bullying bill dropped from special session

By Andy Birkey
Tuesday, October 19, 2010 at 8:58 am

Sen. Scott Dibble and Rep. Jim Davnie announced Monday they won’t introduce the Safe Schools for All bill during the special session. Gov. Tim Pawlenty had rejected the call for tougher anti-bullying efforts, and DFL leadership was not prepared to back the measure. The duo offered the bills because of what they called a crisis of suicides by LGBT students in Minnesota this year. They will push for the legislation in 2011.

“We would like to stress that the focus of this bills always has been on the kids, parents, teachers and communities that are telling us we have a real crisis that must be addressed — as evidenced by the alarming number of tragic suicides in the past year,” Dibble said in a statement. “Disappointingly, some would politicize this topic and construe it as part of the current gubernatorial race. It is with regard for the safety and success of the state’s children that we are choosing not to have the bill considered during today’s special session. Instead, we will forge ahead with efforts to make it among the priority bills of the 2011 legislative session.”

Pawlenty rebuffed efforts to bring the bill up in special session.

“Bullying is a serious issue but there’s no need to duplicate existing Minnesota law which prohibits it,” Pawlenty spokesman Bruce Gordon told MPR last week. “If the legislature wanted to improve the existing law, they could have accepted our invitation to do so last session, but they choose not to. Nevertheless, the special session should be focused only on providing disaster relief to Minnesotans in need. The legislature will reconvene in January — less than 90 days — to address other matters.”

Davnie said that rather than fight Pawlenty on the issue, they will wait until a new governor is in place in 2011.

“[T]he current Governor has been clear about his position on this topic,” Davnie added. “He vetoed it after promising to sign the bill in 2009, and he has shown no willingness to reconsider his position this time around. This issue is simply far too important to become political fodder yet again… It is important that we send a message to kids feeling isolated that someone is listening, and that we will do what we can to make it better.”

Follow Andy Birkey on Twitter


Comments

12 Comments

Tim
Comment posted October 19, 2010 @ 10:19 am

This is a testimony that the Lord answers prayer and is alive and well in our mist.

Vote for Tom Emmer for governor to keep MN from passing religion-based laws in the public school system, creating a theocracy like Iran that the far-left is trying to achieve that would destroy the economy.

Yesterday, Presidential Candidate and Governor Mitt Romney held a fundraiser for Tom Emmer, in efforts to restore America to a prosperous, strong nation.

Tom Emmer has a positive vision for the future of Minnesota, a vision that creates jobs, lowers taxes and restores education so that future generations inherit a prosperous Minnesota. http://www.emmerforgovernor.com/budget/

You can donate online at
https://www.completecampaigns.com/public.asp?name=EmmerTom&page=1


Paul Schmelzer
Comment posted October 19, 2010 @ 10:46 am

Hi Laura: I appreciate your frustration, but our comment policy states no namecalling. I’m deleting your comment; if you’d like to comment again, feel free.


rebellious grrl
Comment posted October 19, 2010 @ 1:04 pm

Anyone but Emmer.

A vote for Emmer would be like a vote for the Christian Taliban. Emmer would govern from the “religious right” with anti-gay and anti-woman legislation. If elected Emmer would pass (or advocate) to pass religious laws that are homophobic and misogynistic. For example, anti-abortion legislation (obviously misogynistic and anti-woman) and he supports a constitutional marriage amendment that is homophobic. To me, he acts like a bully when he pushes his religious right agenda. How can he even understand what kids especially GLBT kids are going through in school?

“The last time we mixed politics and religion people were burned at the stake”


Rob C
Comment posted October 19, 2010 @ 1:12 pm

Surely you are joking. Emmer is a rightist supported by many religious fundamentalists that want to impose their religious views on others. Many of Emmers positions are identical to those of the religious right and have a foundation in perceived religious dogma (e.g., his stand on abortion). I do see that Emmer’s personal life is not all that consistent with religious “values”.


Brix Smith
Comment posted October 20, 2010 @ 12:52 pm

Thanks to Dibble & Davnie for speaking out.


Eric
Comment posted October 21, 2010 @ 12:08 pm

Tim,

If your lord answers prayers pertaining to GLBTI issues–i.e., he somehow intervenes directly in the world, performing miracles as necessary–then can we assume that he agrees with making gay marriage legal in California (and Canada and other countries), overturning the military’s ban, etc?

He could have prevented these decisions in theory, but evidently didn’t.

So…is your lord undecided on gay/lesbian issues? Is he maybe like some supernatural Diebold voting machine in the sky, making decisions not on the basis of “absolutes” but on proportions of prayers received?

Is it possible that your version of Jesus–himself in an eternal same sex relationship (with your god and holy spirit)–is one of the strongest supporters of the GLBT community?


Tim
Comment posted October 21, 2010 @ 1:09 pm

Yesterday, a member of the LGBT community murdered a U of M engineering student roommate.
http://kstp.com/news/stories/s1801464.shtml

Police say Sterling is known to often wear women’s clothing and was wearing a green skirt with black leggings the day Kohorst was killed. The former house-mate says Sterling dressed as a woman ‘all the time,’ and that he introduced himself by the name “Lux.”

Sterling obviously needs medical help. His mental state is not stable. He needs to see a psychologist, a doctor and a pastor. But because sexual identity is no longer considered a mental illness, he did not get the help he so desperately needed – resulting in the death of his friend and he will not spend most of his life behind bars. Not to say that everyone that struggles with sexual identity is mentally ill, but many are. This tragedy could have been prevented.

Your biased support for anyone that struggles with sexual identity does not help people like Sterling. In fact, it makes them believe they don’t need help and they are normal even thought they are not. The LGBT activist’s needs to be more responsible to the community rather then turn a blind eye to the obvious medal illness that many in the LGBT community suffer from.

This is a clear example of how LGBT activists are a danger to the public. If same-sex marriage was passed in MN, it would further hide the need for mental help that many that struggle with sexual identity need. And that will only lead to further deaths and suicides.

Anti-bullying law in MN would also contribute to hiding the fact that people need help that struggle with sexual identity, not a law to cover it up and let them they go on thinking they are just fine.


Kevin
Comment posted October 21, 2010 @ 2:28 pm

Tim

Your screwed up attempts at logic are jaw dropping and mind numbing. As has been said many times in the past: “What color is the sky in your world?”

Just kind-a curious….


Eric
Comment posted October 21, 2010 @ 5:17 pm

Tim,

Perhaps you don’t understand what you’re doing, but most others do. You take one extreme example and generalize to all GLBT people.

Let’s apply this same “reasoning” to fundamentalist and evangelical Christians. Statistically, a small percentage of them will rape and molest children. Applying your logic, then we should all be alarmed at the danger you and others who believe like you pose to children.

I know critical thinking isn’t an educational priority of most churches, but come on.


Lane
Comment posted October 21, 2010 @ 5:58 pm

A lot of heterosexuals engage in cross-dressing, and some of them look darn good, too!


Katie B.
Comment posted October 22, 2010 @ 1:17 pm

Tim,

Only a bigot – or a conservative Christian – would see a single incident of criminality as indicting a whole people.

BTW, crossdressers seldom identify as TLBG. Most identify themselves as heterosexual men. Some crossdressers identify as gay men, but not the majority by any means.

Sexual orientation and gender identity variance are NORMAL. They are natural instances of variation in human beings. Which means, unfortunately, that some gay and some trans people are inclined to criminal behavior, including murder. Nobody has ever denied this – except for the straw libbie that Tim seems to be tackling.

A Christian failing logic? It’s more likely than you think…


Fred
Comment posted October 26, 2010 @ 11:21 pm

Tim, apparently you have a place in Hell waiting for you. Based on what you said here, I assume you will enjoy being there. My hats off to you!


RSS feed for comments on this post.

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.