An Iowa law passed in 2007 requires both public and nonpublic schools to establish policies that prohibit bullying against students. This includes harassment by school employees, volunteers or other students. The law offers protection to students regardless of sexual orientation, but two Iowa legislators want to change that in an effort to reverse the state Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage.
Representative Jason Schultz hopes that, by removing gay and transgender students from being protected by this law, this will help make same-sex marriage illegal in Iowa. “The Bully Bill, or Safe School Act, doesn’t protect anyone anyway,” Schultz said. “Schools are already doing this, so to remove a few words doesn’t change the intent or effect of the law.”
In April, the Iowa Supreme Court pointed to the school safety law while making its decision to legalize same-sex marriage because it specifically listed “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” along with age, color, creed, race, and many other protected classes. Basically, Schultz believes that by removing gay and transgender groups from that list, it will help reinforce his argument that same-sex couples should not be allowed to marry.
The fact that Schultz is using school children as pawns to push his agenda is outrageous. There is a reason why these students are mentioned specifically in the bill, and that’s because their lifestyle is still a target for scrutiny.
One out of three children are bullied at school, according to Education.com. A 2001 study concluded that gay and lesbian youth reporting high levels of school harassment also reported higher levels of substance use, suicidal behavior and sexual risk behavior. However, gay and lesbian students who experienced lower levels of harassment in school reported lower levels of the risk behaviors.
How are these children supposed to feel, knowing that they can possibly be removed from a bill designed to protect them? They are being singled out so that some higher-ups with an agenda can get their way. While the general Civil Rights Act is designed to protect against discrimination, school safety laws are designed specifically for children. It’s a way to empower them and let them know that they have rights too.
By actively excluding a group, it’s like saying that they don’t have the same rights as their peers. The gay and transgender community has fought hard for the rights that they do have and to even propose this type of exclusionary behavior is insulting.
Schultz claims that he is not trying to hurt these students, but how can he advocate excluding a class of people from a bill that is made to protect them? It’s bad enough that our country tries to dictate how consenting adults choose to live their lives, but to single out a particular group of children in order to get your way is inexcusable.
This law should be a way to help children become more aware and accepting of each other, not to alienate.
Removing gay and transgender groups from Iowa school bill is ‘outrageous’
Published: Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Updated: Wednesday, March 17, 2010
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Above, protestors in Oregon work to keep discrimination out of similar bills.
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