GOP rejects anti-bullying measure
Friday, April 01, 2011 at 1:06 pm
- 18 Comments
As the Minnesota Senate debated a K-12 education budget bill on Thursday, Sen. Scott Dibble (DFL-Minneapolis) offered an amendment that would strengthen the state’s anti-bullying laws. The proposal would instruct school districts to set up trainings for staff — from teachers to bus drivers — on how to handle bullying. The bill was defeated on a party line vote, with Republicans voting against it.
“The bullying that young people experience is learned behavior,” Dibble told his colleagues on the Senate floor on Thursday afternoon. “This bill seeks to ensure that all kids are protected. In a perfect world we’d say no more bullying and it’d be done, but we don’t live in a perfect world.”
The amendment spells out a number of bullying characteristics that school districts should train staff on, from sexual orientation to national origin to economic status. Current law only covers race, sex and religion.
“What happens when we are not specific, students experience the same level of harassment and bullying,” said Dibble. “Among Minnesota’s school districts, 80 percent do not include national origin or disability, 93 percent of schools don’t do so on the basis of sexual orientation.”
Sen. Warren Limmer (R-Maple Grove) said that existing anti-bullying laws were satisfactory and urged lawmakers to reject Dibble’s amendment.
Dibble responded, “Kids tell us clearly, they plead with us, ‘Protect us.You are not protecting us when you are being intentionally vague.”
He added, “The evidence shows us things are worse for kids when we don’t have specific policies on the books. You are abandoning them; that’s the effect of a ‘no’ vote” on the amendment.
Limmer responded, “We have had this discussion since 1989. I would subject to the body that we have all the necessary policies we need. They are already on the books.”
Limmer accused Dibble of repealing anti-bullying laws. The amendment would indeed repeal existing anti-bullying laws, but would replace them with stronger provisions.
Dibble shot back, “Please stop misleading the public and this body.”
The amendment was defeated by a vote of 28-35.
Dibble said he would continue to push for the bill.
“This common-sense amendment would have added much-needed protection for children and their families, and sent a message that we are serious about taking care of Minnesota’s kids. Instead, the Republican majority, at the behest of extremist special interests, took the opportunity to reject the amendment and subsequently pass a bill that, in its entirety, fails Minnesota schools and students,” he said in a statement following the vote.
Dibble and the House author of a similar bill, Rep. Jim Davnie (DFL-Minneapolis), are planning a meeting next week with safe schools advocates to determine next steps.
“This was simple language intended to address a very complicated problem, uphold widely held Minnesota values, and give guidance and support to those teachers and faculty trying to address an extremely serious harm that affects our children every day,” Dibble said. “The fact that it was soundly rejected by the Republican majority is just more evidence of hard-line political beliefs standing in the way of good policy for the people of Minnesota.”
Follow Andy Birkey on Twitter18 Comments
Comment posted April 1, 2011 @ 1:09 pm
More proof that the Republicans are bullies. And jerks.
Comment posted April 1, 2011 @ 3:00 pm
Kids need to be taught how to treat each other with respect. Why doesn’t this article quote the teacher stories that Gen Olsen or Pam Wolf told on the Senate floor? We don’t need speech police, we need good parents that care about how their kids treat other people.
Comment posted April 1, 2011 @ 3:11 pm
Even Megamind has more heart than unsavory Mr. Limmer who is way beyond UFF DA!
Comment posted April 1, 2011 @ 3:12 pm
Alabaster, if you know those teacher stories, why not tell us here in this thread? Thanks.
Comment posted April 1, 2011 @ 4:38 pm
what would y you expect from a bully
did you expect any thing different
lane mel dahl vrs united states navy
did you look it up
same difference a bully is a bully
Comment posted April 1, 2011 @ 4:49 pm
I am also very tired of the groups that keep saying to not focus on the child and why he got bullied, but to just say 0 bulling goes on here.
That, is being said because those groups are the one teaching their children to bully. If you do not attack the reasons people bully you can not correct it!
Has NO ONE read their history? Does NO ONE understand that one can not be rehabilitated in their crimes unless they understand what they did wrong and why!
Comment posted April 1, 2011 @ 4:59 pm
Ray, perhaps you missed my response in the recent Iowegian article, but I’ll re-post it here:
As for Mel Dahl vs the US Navy, I came across the August 19, 1993 court decision and order for reinstatement at http://dont.stanford.edu/cases/dahl.pdf. I sense potential in this becoming a novel / movie based on a true story …
Comment posted April 1, 2011 @ 8:35 pm
lane it probably will
i hope it is based on facts
it was a tough time for people
it was a long time ago but only yesterday in my mind
i pray these kids don’t go through what i went through
we need to focus on the kids
what i watched mel go through
i could only help my shipmate who i was sworn to protect and i became collateral
damage by command retaliations
i fear the long term affects of these kids will be monumental
as being a heterol sexual mel is my hero and i am proud to say a true friend
he is the beginning of a long journey for many people to live in what is so called
the American dream my man mel
Comment posted April 1, 2011 @ 8:52 pm
Let’s be clear about this. The GOP rejection of Dibble’s measure is all the indication we need that they are willing to risk the very lives of LGBT youth in order to prosecute their religious campaign against LGBT equality. This is how far Christian right-wing extremism has come, and it’s partially running the government of the state of MN.
Christian conservatives want you to walk back into the closet and be quiet. Are you going to do their theocratic bidding?
Or, are we all going to get organized and battle these Bible bigots out of office?
Comment posted April 1, 2011 @ 11:16 pm
again, I will say its time to understand that, that just because we think that their bigotry will speak for itself, it will not. If they push and we do not stand up against, they will gain power.
Indoctrination is the root skill of any extreme right religious fundie.
Pingback posted April 2, 2011 @ 5:57 am
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Comment posted April 2, 2011 @ 6:41 am
has anyone dared ask the kids what they think
i think a strategic end would to hit the bullies parents with a civil lawsuit
and when the pay that first retainer they will think twice
myself in defending mel by testifying on his behalf
or i wil say i was not afforded an attorney even thogh i demanded one
under naval law
ERIC START ORGANIZING NO ONE IS STOPPING YOU
Comment posted April 3, 2011 @ 12:22 am
Another example of the widening difference between religion and morality.
Comment posted April 3, 2011 @ 10:25 am
And God said to them, “Preserve the blastocyst but abuse the GLBT child.” And they all commenced to shooting and jailing women’s health care providers and abusing queer kids. They saw these things felt good and praised themselves while proclaiming “Our Lord is Love and Peace and Truth.”
Book of Hypocrites III: 9-11
Praise Jebus, God hates frightened, vulnerable children, Amen.
Comment posted April 5, 2011 @ 9:11 am
Bullying is real. Most kids don’t know how to defend themselves from a bully. My family have incounted girls bullying. It came to the point that my daughter was bully real bad, that, she brought knives to school. She did a very bad thing. She is away from me becausing of the of this. I am, and is, standing behind the school and the law for what my daughter did. She did not tell me what was going on because, she was afraid that I was going to acted up. Carl you did not spell JESUS right, and He do not hate. HE LOVE US ALL. WE ARE HIS CHILDREN. THE SHEEP OF HIS PASTURE. I blame my daughter for bringing those knives to school, and not telling me what was going on with her. I thank GOD that it wasn’t used on anyone. He stop it before it got out of hand. She could have in up in prison for being bullyed.
Comment posted April 6, 2011 @ 5:43 pm
From what I have observed of the GOP and conservatives, they seem to thrive on
intimidating and bullying not only those they disagree with, but people in their own ranks in order to keep them in line. I’m not surprised that one of their own would therefore be uninterested in making the changes proposed.
Comment posted May 9, 2011 @ 9:27 am
ST. PAUL, Minn. — A state survey finds that there’s more than half a chance a student in Minnesota schools has been bullied or has bullied someone else.
The analysis by the Departments of Health and Education uses data from a survey of more than 130,000 students. It found that 13 percent of respondents reported being bullied regularly — once a week or more.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42955125
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