Legislative Malfeasance in Michigan

[Shana A]

Legislative Malfeasance in Michigan

Filed By Amy Hunter | November 04, 2011 3:00 PM

http://www.bilerico.com/2011/11/legislative_malfeasance_in_michigan.php

An "anti-bullying" bill with exceptions, really?

In a stunning misrepresentation of the public trust, ultra-conservatives in Michigan pushed an "anti-bullying" initiative through the state Senate Wednesday after attaching an amendment that radically changed the legislation's impact. The surprise change guts the bill by giving bullies a pass if their offense was perpetrated because of "deep moral conviction" or "religious belief." Senate Bill 137, originally intended to protect all students from bullying, was under a cloud of criticism by Democrats and the gay and transgender community for its lack of enumerated protections before being eviscerated further by right-wing conservatives.

Lack of enumeration was already a point that gay, transgender and progressive communities were citing when characterizing SB 137 as "weak." An enumerated bill would be a much stronger measure as it would list, or enumerate, classes of people that are most often targeted by bullies.

[Sailor_Saturn]

So the moral of the story is that if you live in Michigan and have a transsexual child, you should teach them to fight and then have them beat the dog-crap out of their bullies and then cite a "deep moral conviction" to do so as the cause? Got it.