Rich Pfouts

OTHER VOICES:
Anti-bullying bill will help students respect others

RICH PFOUTS

In the first column I wrote as a member of The Olympian's Diversity Panel, I focused on the anti-bullying bill before the state Legislature.

The bill originated in the House. When it passed the Senate, there were some changes made to the bill that the House had to concur with before the bill could be sent to the governor for his signature.

It now appears that we will actually have in place a law that will help protect students from harassment and bullying in our schools.

The fact that it has taken five years to get to this point is what disturbs me. A majority of the opposition to this bill was the fact that it would protect gay and lesbian students or those who are perceived to be gay or lesbian by their classmates.

Testimony given at public hearings on this bill claimed it was a violation of a student's free speech -- that a student who believes that homosexuality is wrong has the right to speak out against those they think are homosexual.

It amazes me that a bill to provide school districts with a tool to help protect students from bullying, harassment and intimidation can be held up for five years because it will protect students who are, or are perceived to be, homosexual.

I honestly thought a measure that would help make schools a safer place for all students would be easily passed by our state Legislature. I believed that the majority of the citizens of this state would want schools to be a safe environment for all students. Unfortunately, this sentiment was not reflected in the state Legislature until this year.

In addressing his colleagues on the House floor, Rep. Ed Murray, D-Seattle, who spearheaded the fight for this legislation, said, "This bill is not about bullies. This bill is not about restricting free speech. This bill is about the Legislature setting standards to ensure that all of our schools are safe and that all our students are safe."

We have here another example of the need for more dialogue on diversity in our community. There is still the need to learn about the differences in the members of our community.

It is unfortunate that our society is not to the point of accepting and respecting those who are different in some way. We should not need laws that protect the rights of those who might be different than the majority of this society.

Until we as a community can respect our differences, we will need these types of laws to ensure we protect all of our rights.

Only through learning more about ourselves and those who make up our community will we move away from the need to pass legislation to protect the rights of all in our society.

Rich Pfouts, president of Hands Off Washington, is a member of The Olympian's Diversity Panel.

Letters to the EditorWe want to hear from you. Click here to email your comments.

The Olympian Copyright 2002

Back to Opinion index