Following a long week of late filed amendments, HB669 was finally brought to the floor for a vote. It was touch and go right up to the last minute. It was certainly a heated debate, and it is always difficult when you can see the right on both sides of the issue. I hope everyone that reads this understands that it has nothing to do with our being opposed to protecting ANY child for any reason. We simply must remove the focus from the victim of bullying, and place it on the BEHAVIOR of the BULLY. One Representative (who was actually in favor of adding the hate crimes statute) made the point that when a child reports to someone at school that they are being bullied, the first question they are asked is "Why?" This is our point exactly! The very question "Why?" implies that the victim did something to bring this on themselves. Does the bully's reason actually matter in the whole scope of things? Should we give greater or lesser consequences based on the justification the bully gives for their actions, or should ALL children receive equal protection? Should a bullied child be subjected to the humiliation of an interrogation to determine if the category they fall into entitles them to full protection, some protection, or what most children receive...no protection? As was stated so well by Representative Bogdanoff, it wasn't until we stopped focusing on the victim that we started putting rapists away. Once we stop all the haggling over why a child is being bullied, and start looking at why certain children exhibit bullying behavior, we will finally take the first steps toward solving this crisis in our schools.
Just two more hurdles in the Senate to go... Keep praying!
Hugs,
Debbie
