A Tale Of Two Legislatures

Following two cases of students, Phoebe Price and Carl Walker-Hoover, who committed suicide after being bullied at school, the Massachusetts Legislature unanimously approved a new state law that would crack down on bullying. This new legislation requires all school employees to report any instance of bullying and requires school principals to investigate every report.

Senator Robert O'Leary, introducing his bill in the Senate: "Bullying is not new. Bullying has been with us from time immemorial. But what has changed is that it appears to be more pervasive, more destructive. We're going to send out a message that this kind of behavior is not acceptable and the community needs to deal with it."

Meanwhile, down in Georgia, the state Senate also voted unanimously, in the last hours of their legislative session, to approve an anti-bullying measure that would expand the definition of bullying while requiring schools to develop guidelines tailored to curb bullying in elementary through high schools.

The bullying bill was strongly backed by Georgia Equality, and though it does not specifically address bullying based on sexual orientation or gender identity, lobbyists believe it will help LGBT students, who often face bullying in school.
Republican Congressman Mike Jacobs said he was moved to sponsor the bill by the death of DeKalb County fifth grader Jaheem Herrera, who committed suicide after being relentlessly bullied.

Great news, from up north and down south. Let's hope it spreads to other states that do not have anti-bullying laws.

Not One More

Another young boy has killed himself over being bullied at school; they've even coined a phrase for it: bully-cide. This is getting to be an almost daily occurrence lately, and something needs to be done before we become desensitized to the whole issue.

Jaheem Herrera, eleven years old, hanged himself at his home after relentless bullying at Dunaire Elementary School. His ten-year-old sister, Yerralis, found him hanging in the closet, a fabric belt tied around his neck.

Masika Bermudez, Jaheem’s mother, spoke briefly at the vigil for her son, and after a short prayer, she urged Jaheem's friends to talk to their parents; she begged the parents to listen to their children.

Norman Keene, Jaheem’s stepfather, said the family knew the boy was a target of bullies, but until his death they didn’t understand the scope. “They called him gay and a snitch,” he said, "All the time they’d call him this.”

How did we come to live in a world where this is tolerated, where it is accepted? And please, don't tell me it isn't tolerated and accepted, because there have been too many young boys and girls found hanging in closets for it not to be.

How did we come to live in a world where calling someone gay is such a horrible name that these kids kill themselves to make it stop?

We all talk about gay marriage and equality for gay Americans and equal rights and protection under the law, but children are choosing death over being identified as gay, whether they are gay or not. They would rather die than suffer another moment of being tortured.

How did we come to live like this?