news-record.com

RALEIGH — The Senate gave tentative approval Tuesday to a bill that sets anti-bullying policy for state school systems but angers some social conservatives.

The Senate vote was 25-22, but the members must vote again today to send the bill to the House. House members approved a similar bill in the 2007-08 sessions.

“This is solely to protect kids and keep them safe at school,” said Sen. Julia Boseman, a Wilmington Democrat.

She and other supporters of the measure pointed to instances in Massachusetts and Georgia where students had been bullied to the point where they killed themselves.

The measure says that bullying for any reason is unacceptable. But it goes on to say harassment of students based on or are thought to be based on any of several categories is unacceptable. Among those categories:

• Physical appearance
• National origin
• Race
• Sexual orientation.

The last category, sexual orientation, has infuriated social conservatives. They say that it is writing into law acceptance for “alternative lifestyles” and could lead to other government sanctions, such as gay marriage.

In a letter to supporters, Rev. Mark Creech of the Christian Action League called on the public to lobby legislators against the bill.

“It is a way to introduce these special categories of legal protection to the state’s statutes, which, in turn, could impact laws on everything from employment to housing and even marriage,” Creech wrote.

During floor debate, Sen. Phil Berger, an Eden Republican and his party’s leader in the chamber, attempted to change the bill by taking out references to specific categories.

“The problem with the bill as it exists is it creates special classes for protection,” Berger said. “It doesn’t say all bullying is wrong.”

Boseman was able to kill this amendment through a procedural maneuver. And she got support from other Democrats.

“This bill is an important tool that will give our schools an opportunity to do what is right, and that is to protect our students,” said Sen. Tony Foriest, a Graham Democrat. “We are better than what we have seen in some schools across this nation.”

Contact Mark Binker at (919) 832-5549 or mark.binker@news-record.com