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How did a bullying bill become a debate about gay marriage?

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The full text of the School Violence Prevention Act

By Ragan Robinson | Hickory Daily Record

Published: June 28, 2009

HICKORY - The dispute over four words provoked men to insults such as "bigot" and "Hitler."

The dispute over four words sent a carload of pastors from Alexander County all the way to Raleigh last week to insist on dissension from a lawmaker.

The dispute over four words left one legislator accusing a colleague of shirking his responsibility. And it left the accused representative with his hands tied between a promise and principles.

The School Violence Prevention Act sounds tame enough. But the N.C. House passed and sent the anti-bullying bill to Gov. Bev Perdue last week by a single vote.

That was only after Speaker Joe Hackney broke the tie.

The four words that spurred discord among lawmakers and their constituents: sexual orientation and gender identity.

In part, the bill defines bullying as harassing behavior motivated by sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as gender, race, color, religion, ancestry and other characteristics.

Supporters of the language say it is necessary to be specific so teachers and administrators explicitly understand which students are common victims of bullying.

Educators say the wording should be so precise, there's no question what constitutes bullying.

Gay rights advocates believe the mention of sexual orientation sends a message the law, when the anti-bullying legislation becomes one, values all children equally.

Opponents say the entire Protection Act was more about opening the door to same-sex marriage in North Carolina than protecting children.

The argument stems from this being the first time North Carolina has used the words sexual orientation, as well as gender identity, in a state statute.

Some believe the bill gives special protection to homosexuals and puts Christian children in danger of punishment for outreach.

The thing they can agree on, from the pastor to the gay rights activist, is that the four all-important words are more than four words.

In their words:
Mark Marshall, an associate pastor at East Taylorsville Baptist Church, was one of several ministers who tried to convince Alexander Rep. Ray Warren to vote against the bullying bill.

Chief among his complaints, he says mentioning gender identity and sexual orientation gives special protection to homosexual students.

"It makes one kid above another kid," he said.

"What if you came and lovingly told them you wish they weren't like that ... you could be punished," he said.

The bill says bullying is creating a hostile environment or reasonable fear of harm.

Marshall thinks the sexual orientation mention is part of the homosexual agenda.

"Homosexuality is rampant through our schools," he said. "They're just trying to justify their lifestyle. It's just like Hitler ... he started with the youth."

Rep. Mark Hilton (R- Catawba) says each school system already is required to have anti-bullying rules.

He believes introducing the Violence Protection Act was not about stopping bullies, but about paving the way for gay marriage.

"The idea is to get these kinds of words and language into our statutes so they can argue North Carolina already has laws," Hilton said.

He frequently points to Iowa, where the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage in April, as an example of what could happen in North Carolina.

Hilton also has harsh words for his Republican colleague Rep. Ray Warren (D-Catawba, Alexander).

He points out the vote was a tie, and, had Warren voted against the bullying bill, it would have failed.

Greg Nevins is an attorney with Lambda Legal, the organization that filed Iowa's original lawsuit on behalf of same-sex couples.

He said courts in Iowa did refer to other laws that bar discrimination based on sexual orientation.
But it can work both ways.

He also said courts in other states, Maryland, for example, have refused to scrutinize the marriage issue when a number of anti-discrimination laws already exist.

Mitchell Gold is an area gay rights activist. He sees the inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity as necessary because of today's climate.

"It lays out categories because they need to," Gold said. "There are parents and ministers teaching things that might make kids think it's OK to bully someone."

He cited common Christian teachings that homosexuals are an abomination.

By arguing that any mention of sexual orientation or gender identity should be removed, Gold said lawmakers show they don't value the life of every child.

Gold remembers going to school in New Jersey in the 1960s, when the "N" word wouldn't get a child in trouble.

It took legislation to make sure blacks were treated with dignity and respect, he said.

"The truth is these are people who are bigoted against gay people," he said. "... And part of the horror of this is these lawmakers are saying to kids, 'we don't value you.'"

Rep. Ray Warren (D-Catawba, Alexander) did not vote yes or no on last week's School Violence Protection Act.

He said when a similar bill came up two years ago, he met with a group of people from the district with a strong opposition to it. He promised that group he would not vote for the bill if it came back up.

"Had I voted, I would have voted for the bill," he said. "But because of a commitment I had made, I could not."

This year, he said the experts who called for anti-bullying legislation convinced him it would be a mistake to vote against the bullying bill.

"I based my opinion on the educators, the school administrators, the N.C. Association of Educators, the Department of Public Instruction," he said. "They thought it would be an effective tool to help prevent school violence. They're the people who deal with this every day."

Sen. Steve Goss is the only lawmaker in Catawba, Burke, Alexander or Caldwell counties to vote for the School Violence Protection Act.

He said at first he objected to the bill because it could set a new class of individuals for civil rights purposes in North Carolina. That, he said, could lead to legalizing gay marriage in the state.

He says he voted for the legislation only after the last sentence was added.

It says "the sole purpose of this law is to protect all children from bullying and harassment and no other legislative purpose is intended nor should any other intent be construed by the passage of this law."

Sheri Strickland, president of the N.C. Association of Educators, says while school systems have rules against bullying, many are vague.

"They aren't working," she says. "We hear that directly from the kids themselves."

She says North Carolina needs a law to prevent bullying to give teeth to those policies.

NCAE supports including a list of characteristics for which children may be bullied.

Kids are often bullied because they are or are perceived to be gay, lesbian or bisexual, Strickland says.

In addition, she says defining those characteristics, which include race, gender, socioeconomic status and more, makes it easier for teachers to identify bullying and harassment and respond, as they should.

"For us, it's really just a human and civil rights issue," Strickland says. "All kids should be able to go to school and feel safe. We wanted to be sure there's no question in anybody's mind."

Bill Harrison, chairman and CEO of the state Board of Education, said the state's Department of Public Instruction wanted a law to prevent bullying to "add a little more punch" to existing policies, as well of ensuring consistency throughout the state.

He says he would not have agreed with a bill that set out specific consequences for bullying or for educators who ignore bullying.

"My sense is there needs to be a little flex in there," he said.

Harrison wasn't surprised by the close vote in the state house last week. He knew the mention of sexual orientation and gender identity created controversy. But he believes the bill truly is about protecting children.

"I don't think this is a gay rights or a gay marriage debate," he said. "I think it's being very specific about what targets are not free targets."