Ohio Legislators Pass Stripped Down Anti-Bullying Law Void Of LGBT, Disability, and Race Protections

Earlier this year we heard about the Michigan State Senate and it’s “license to bully” Anti-Bullying Law where Michigan Senate Republicans inserted a provision that allowed for exceptions to the law for “a sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction.” the exemption was eventually stripped from the bill after much controvery and publicity but the eventual reworked bill did not specifically adress bullying based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Well Ohio has gone one step further with Ohio Senate Education Committee passing the  “Jessica Logan Act,” designed to stop harassment of students on and off campus but the the committee would only HB116 at the last minute when it was stripped the provision , “that would prohibit bullying based on any real or perceived characteristics of the student, such as race, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity, and the bill did not include enumeration of particular characteristics.” according to Equality Ohio director Ed Mullen.

So basically this law protects no one and is so vauge that is give authority figures an “out” to ignore bullying of LGBT students, diabled students, or student bullied by race because they either don’t want to stop it or  perceive it as wrong.

This makes me very ashamed to call myself an Ohioain!