BTL Editorial: Maybe this time...

Maybe it will happen this time. Maybe the new state government installed in Lansing in January 2011 will pass anti-bullying legislation. Maybe they will listen this time to the young people who have endured bullying at their schools, the ones who quit school to get away from the pressure, and the parents and friends of young people who could not take it any more and ended their young lives.
Michigan is only one of five states with no anti-bullying legislation of some sort – a dismal reflection of the anti-LGBT environment that has dominated Lansing for years. The four other states – Hawaii, North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana – have a combined population of under 3.8 million, which means that Michigan accounts for over two-thirds of all the young people in the country who are not protected by anti-bullying laws.
Some leaders in the Republican majority of the Michigan Senate consider it a badge of honor that our state is unique in its tolerance of bullying. Term-limited Senate majority leader Alan Cropsey has stymied every attempt to pass anti-bullying legislation, and he has indicated he will continue blocking any and all such bills in the lame duck session this fall. His reason for blocking passage? He doesn't want any state legislation that includes LGBT people – for any reason.
We consider it shameful and embarrassing that Michigan students can't turn to their adult political leaders for protection. Everyone agrees that bullying is real, that some students – and especially LGBT students – are targeted by bullies and tormented at school; that some teachers and administrators are unwilling and/or unable to intervene and protect bullied students. But not everyone agrees that bullying should be stopped, and we think that is fundamentally wrong.
We call on Michigan's new Governor and Legislature to champion anti-bullying legislation in the next session. Cropsey will be gone, and although there are plenty of other anti-LGBT zealots in Lansing, there are few who have made it such a high priority to beat down the LGBT citizenry of Michigan. We believe young people deserve protection, education and nurturing and that LGBT students deserve a safe and productive educational experience, just like every other child. We call on our leadership to bring Michigan into the mainstream on this issue, and not continue to leave our state out on the bigoted fringe.
It will take leadership and loud voices from lots of people to make this change occur. Educators, parents, young people, activists and people of good faith who believe in fairness will have to make their voices heard – again. We will go to Lansing – again – and testify that bullying is bad, that students should be protected and that the anti-bullying legislation is needed. Again we will hear inane arguments about how such legislation will infringe on freedom of speech and thought and that bullying is a natural fact of adolescence that toughens kids up.
Again we will have to look into the faces of battered students, of broken-hearted parents of suicide victims and commit to them that we will not give up the fight.
We will also need our organizations to speak collectively for the LGBT community, organizations like the Ruth Ellis Center and Affirmations. Those two organizations are committed to helping LGBT youth. We report in this issue that Affirmations is retracting its services and hours due to budget pressures. We understand the economic realities of our times, but we also recognize the critical nature of that organization's role in our community and the beacon of light and hope it provides to young people all over Michigan. We're approaching the holiday season. Maybe this year LGBT people all over Michigan will give the gift of hope and security to young people and support these two important organizations.