Senate passes Bullying Bill on Second Reading 25-22, Third vote is on Wednesday – Sex-Ed bill is also up for consideration same day
Christian Action League
The final vote on the pro-homosexual bullying bill is set for Wednesday in the Senate where lawmakers gave their tentative approval Tuesday voting 25-22.
“We have called on North Carolinians to plead with their Senators to oppose this legislation, which would open the door to special protections for those choosing the homosexual lifestyle,” said the Rev. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League of North Carolina. “And we are asking again for folks to contact their Senators in these last few hours to make one final appeal for them to vote against this. Two senators changing their minds on Wednesday could stop this bill, and calls from concerned constituents are what it will take to change their minds.”
The School Violence Protection Act, Senate Bill 526 puts “gender identity” and “sexual orientation” on the same footing with “race” and “ancestry,” and would set a precedent that could play out in everything from housing and employment statutes to marriage laws.
“A high school boy who decides he wants to dress as a girl and perhaps even use the ladies room could claim, if he’s deterred by fellow students or school employees, that he’s being bullied because of his ‘gender identity,’ and seek protection under this bill’s provisions,” said the Rev. Creech. “This is not what we need in our schools.”
Creech pointed out that N.C. Public Schools already have policies in place to deal with bullying, regardless of the circumstances.
“The real issue is the need to stop a bully’s unacceptable behavior no matter whom it targets,” said the Rev. Creech. “Making a list to elevate a group’s legal status, based on sexual practices, is not about bullying, it’s about promoting the gay agenda and we need to urge our lawmakers to see it for it what it is.”
The Vote Count
Voting for the bill were Senators: Albertson; Atwater; Basnight; Berger, D.; Boseman; Clodfelter; Dannelly; Davis; Dorsett; Foriest; Garrou; Goss; Graham; Jenkins; Jones; Kinnaird; McKissick; Nesbitt; Purcell; Queen; Shaw; Soles; Stein; Vaughan; and Weinstein. Sen. Rand paired his vote and announced that if voting he would have voted AYE.
Voting against the bill were Senators: Allran; Apodaca; Berger, P.; Bingham; Brock; Brown; Brunstetter; Clary; East; Forrester; Goodall; Hartsell; Hoyle; Hunt; Jacumin; Preston; Rouzer; Rucho; Snow; Stevens; Swindell; Tillman. Sen. Blake paired his vote and if voting he would have voted NO.
Contact Your Senator Now!!!!
Visit the Christian Action League’s Grassroots Action Center to send your Senator an email. Or you can dial the main General Assembly switchboard at 919-733-4111 and ask for your Senator by name. Politely let them know if you did or did not agree with their vote and ask them to vote NO on the final vote Wednesday.
You should also know that HB 88 – The Healthy Youth Act (The Sex-Ed Bill) was removed from the Senate Mental Health and Youth Services Committee on Tuesday and also calendared to be taken up on the Senate floor for Wednesday. While encouraging your Senator to vote against the Bullying Bill, be sure to tell him/her to do the same on the Sex-Ed legislation.