Amendments Proposed To Kentucky Anti-Bullying Bill To Protect Anti-Gay Language

Last month, six members of Kentucky's House of Representatives introduced HB 370, a bill that would require school discipline codes to prohibit bullying and cyberbullying directed at a student's race; religion; national origin; ancestry or ethnicity; sexual orientation; physical, mental, emotional, or learning disability;  gender; gender identity and expression; or other distinguishing personal characteristic. (Legislative history.)  Last week, two legislators introduced amendments to the bill designed to protect religiously motivated anti-gay speech. One of the amendments would provide that school discipline codes may not "prohibit any student from expressing ... personal religious beliefs so long as that expression does not include physically harming a student or damaging a student's property". An alternative proposed amendment provides: "Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prohibit or deny the civil expression by any student of religiously based opinions on issues related to sexual orientation." WHAS reports that after being reported out of committee, the bill is now stalled in the House.