A Special Wake UP!: We Did It! NC’s Bullying Bill Passed!
NOTE: I blame sleep deprivation…I wrote the following column early this morning, when the bill had only passed it’s second reading. Having worked for the NC General Assembly, I should have known better…each bill has to pass three readings before it goes to the Governor’s desk to be signed or vetoed. So, I jumped the gun. However, the good news is that just a few moments ago (4:45 pm Eastern) the bill passed its third reading, so NOW it goes to the Governor’s desk. It was by an even thinner margin…58 votes to 57…ONE vote made the difference. Thank your legislators, folks. Updated Vote List:
| 830 SB 526 | SCHOOL VIOLENCE PREVENTION ACT. Sponsor: BOSEMAN Third Reading |
Outcome: PASSED Time: Jun 23 2009 4:43PM |
Total Votes: 115 Ayes: 58 Noes: 57 Not: 1 Exc. Absent: 4 Exc. Vote: 0
| Ayes: | Representative(s): Adams; Alexander, K.; Alexander, M.; Allen; Bell; Bordsen; Bryant; Carney; Coates; Cole; Cotham; Dickson; Earle; England; Faison; Farmer-Butterfield; Fisher; Floyd,E.; Gibson; Gill; Glazier; Goforth; Goodwin; Hackney (SPEAKER); Haire; Harrell; Harrison; Holliman; Hughes; Insko; Jackson; Jeffus; Jones; Lucas; Luebke; Mackey; Martin; McLawhorn; Michaux; Mobley; Owens; Parmon; Pierce; Rapp; Ross; Stewart; Tarleton; Tolson; Tucker; Underhill; Wainwright; Warren, E.; Weiss; Whilden; Wilkins; Womble; Wray; Yongue |
| Noes: | Representative(s): Avila; Blackwell; Blackwood; Blust; Boles; Braxton; Brown; Brubaker; Burr; Burris-Floyd; Cleveland; Crawford; Current; Daughtry; Dockham; Dollar; Folwell; Frye; Gillespie; Grady; Guice; Gulley; Hill; Hilton; Holloway; Howard; Hurley; Iler; Ingle; Johnson; Justice; Justus; Killian; Langdon; Lewis; Love; McComas; McCormick; McElraft; McGee; Mills; Moore; Neumann; Randleman; Rhyne; Sager; Samuelson; Setzer; Spear; Stam; Starnes; Steen; Stevens; Tillis; West; Wiley; Williams |
| Not Voting: | Representative(s): Sutton |
| Exc. Absence: | Representative(s): Barnhart; Brisson; Hall; Warren, R. |
By a razor-thin margin of only 2 votes, the NC House passed the School Violence Prevention Act! While it can still be vetoed by Governor Bev Perdue, I don’t foresee that happening.
This is a very hard fought victory, and one that deserves a lot of appreciation for progressive non-profits in NC, who worked very hard to get this bill passed. Most importantly, we deserve a thank you to Senator Julia Boseman, who is the sponsor of this bill.
Senator Julia Boseman catches a lot of flack for being gay, if you haven’t noticed. It would be easy for her to steer clear of controversial issues, especially considering that she has a relatively conservative district that is sure to be a hard-fought one for her in the future, if election history is any judge. Email or call her to thank her: http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/members/viewMember.pl?sChamber=Senate&nUserID=156
On the House side, I highly recommend thanking Representative Rick Glazier. He has been a strong advocate for equality in the House for years. He sponsored the bill last year that almost passed, and he sponsored the House companion bill this year. He is a tireless fighter for all types of civil and human rights issues. http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/members/viewMember.pl?sChamber=House&nUserID=317
MY POOP-LIST
Now, for my poop-list (I say poop, but you know what I really mean). First, Representative Paul Stam, Republican from Wake County. Rep. Stam was the most vocal opponent of the bill, and entered into evidence a list of 30….yes, 30 sexual orientations, based on information from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR) of the American Psychiatric Association.
What’s wrong with this picture? Well, for one, those are two different organizations that have never co-issued a statement on sexual orientation. Two? There is no such thing as 30 different sexual orientations. Instead of sexual orientations, they listed sexual fetishes, philias and phobias, including such reprehensible behavior as…big shock…pedophilia, incest, and necrophilia. No wonder the conservative right was so damned scared! I would be too, if I thought this bill would singlehandedly keep me from bullying the man who diddled someone’s corpse!
See this article for a scathing, but factually accurate, report on the misinformation spread by the morality police: http://bluenc.com/throwing-lies-christians.
It’s the same old story of over-the-top scare tactics pulled by the morality police (keep in mind, I’m making a distinction between conservatives and crazy conservatives). We need to let Rep. Stam know how factually incorrect he was…homosexuality has long since been deemed NOT to be a mental disorder. His contact info can be found here: http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/members/viewMember.pl?sChamber=House&nUserID=309
I’d also like to note that Representatives Danny McComas and Carolyn Justice, the Reps for New Hanover/Pender Counties, both voted against the bill.
Check the following to see if you Senator/Representative voted against child safety:
Senate Outcome:
| 237 SB 526 | SCHOOL VIOLENCE PREVENTION ACT. 2nd Edition Sponsor: BOSEMAN Third Reading |
Outcome: PASSED Time: May 6 2009 4:25PM |
Total Votes: 48 Ayes: 26 Noes: 22 Not: 1 Exc. Absent: 0 Exc. Vote: 0
| Ayes: | Senator(s): Albertson; Atwater; Basnight; Berger, D.; Boseman; Clodfelter; Dannelly; Davis; Dorsett; Foriest; Garrou; Goss; Graham; Jenkins; Jones; Kinnaird; McKissick; Nesbitt; Purcell; Queen; Rand; Shaw; Soles; Stein; Vaughan; Weinstein |
| Noes: | Senator(s): Allran; Apodaca; Berger, P.; Bingham; Brock; Brown; Brunstetter; Clary; East; Forrester; Goodall; Hartsell; Hoyle; Hunt; Jacumin; Preston; Rouzer; Rucho; Snow; Stevens; Swindell; Tillman |
| Not Voting: | Senator(s): Blake |
House Outcome:
| 817 SB 526 | SCHOOL VIOLENCE PREVENTION ACT. Sponsor: BOSEMAN Second Reading |
Outcome: PASSED Time: Jun 22 2009 9:11PM |
Total Votes: 116 Ayes: 59 Noes: 57 Not: 2 Exc. Absent: 2 Exc. Vote: 0
| Ayes: | Representative(s): Adams; Alexander, K.; Alexander, M.; Allen; Bell; Boles; Bordsen; Bryant; Carney; Coates; Cole; Cotham; Dickson; Earle; England; Faison; Farmer-Butterfield; Fisher; Floyd,E.; Gibson; Gill; Glazier; Goforth; Goodwin; Haire; Harrell; Harrison; Hill; Holliman; Hughes; Insko; Jackson; Jeffus; Jones; Lucas; Luebke; Mackey; Martin; McLawhorn; Michaux; Mobley; Owens; Parmon; Pierce; Rapp; Ross; Stewart; Tarleton; Tolson; Tucker; Underhill; Wainwright; Warren, E.; Weiss; Whilden; Wilkins; Womble; Wray; Yongue |
| Noes: | Representative(s): Avila; Barnhart; Blackwell; Blackwood; Blust; Braxton; Brisson; Brown; Brubaker; Burr; Burris-Floyd; Cleveland; Crawford; Current; Daughtry; Dockham; Dollar; Folwell; Frye; Gillespie; Grady; Guice; Gulley; Hilton; Holloway; Howard; Hurley; Iler; Ingle; Johnson; Justice; Justus; Killian; Langdon; Lewis; Love; McComas; McCormick; McElraft; McGee; Mills; Moore; Neumann; Randleman; Rhyne; Sager; Setzer; Spear; Stam; Starnes; Steen; Stevens; Sutton; Tillis; West; Wiley; Williams |
| Not Voting: | Representative(s): Hackney (SPEAKER); Warren, R. |
| Exc. Absence: | Representative(s): Hall; Samuelson |
Make sure you tell your Representatives thank you for supporting the bill…and you can pick your own choice words for those who voted with their emotions instead of evidence-based facts. Keep in mind, they voted against ALL children, not only gay and transgendered kids. They voted against the disabled, the poor, the minorities, and the average kids…research has proven that kids who are enrolled in schools with a specific bullying policy, one which includes categories, feel safer…irregardless of whether or not they would fall into any of the enumerated categories.
They voted with their “conscience,” which I can respect. What I cannot respect is the fact that in order to do so, they voted against our children.
Keep rockin’, folks. You helped this happen. Now remind them that we’re watching.
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About Chardon Moore:
Chardon Moore is a political junkie, LGBT ally, and the webmistress of LiberalMartyr.com. She’s been a human and civil rights activist for over a decade, as well as working in broadcast media, academia, and state government. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ChardonMoore.
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