Source: Southern Voice
The Georgia Senate unanimously passed a bill Tuesday afternoon that would broaden the definition of bullying behavior in the state. Georgia Equality urged its members to contact their lawmakers in support of the bill, which the gay political group said would help gay and transgender students, although the legislation's language does not expressly include sexual orientation and gender identity.
The bill, penned by Sen. Chip Roger (R-Woodstock), would expand anti-bullying policies to include children from kindergarten through 12th grade and widen the definition of bullying to include emotional and psychological stress due to persistent and pervasive actions. Additionally, the bill would widen the scope of bullying by changing the word “student” to “person.”
Some school districts have expressed that the bill might not be needed, but Rogers said things need to change.
“I don’t think that anyone can say that there is not bullying taking place in Georgia’s schools,” he said, days before the vote.
The bullying bill now moves to the state House, where Rep. Karla Drenner (D-Avondale Estates), Georgia's only openly gay state lawmaker, predicted it may face an uphill battle.
Atlanta's Southern Voice newspaper reported in 2006 on an survey conducted by Georgia State University that found higher than average rates of anti-gay taunting and threats in the state's schools.
According to the Voice, the 2006 survey found that Georgia students were significantly more likely than the national average to report that bullying and harassment were serious problems in their schools (49 percent versus 36 percent). At that time, fewer students than average reported that their school had a gay-straight alliance to help students deal with the issues (9 percent versus 22 percent nationally).
Some 75 percent of Georgia students surveyed said they heard homophobic slurs like “dyke” and “fag” from fellow students, and 66 percent reported hearing negative comments about gender expression.
“This is the generic allowable insult for anyone who’s different. It just also happens to be linked to a particular group of people who are marginalized and despised by society, the LGBT people. And some of the young people will do almost anything to avoid that label,” GLSEN founder Kevin Jennings, a former teacher, told Southern Voice.
Overall, Georgia students who participated in the Internet-based poll “reported that physical appearance and sexual orientation were the most common reasons students were harassed in school.”
Full article: Ga. Senate passes anti-bullying bill | Southern Voice
Anti-gay bullying common in Ga. schools | Southern Voice (10/13/2006)