Joel Burns delivers anti-bullying message, advocates for stricter legislation

Fort Worth city councilman Joel Burns received national and international press attention when he spoke about recent gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth suicides at an October 2010 Fort Worth City Council meeting.  He delivered an emotional message of being bullied when he was a high school student because of his sexual orientation.  He addressed bullied school children to ensure them that life does get better after the bullying.  The response to his speech was overwhelming.  His message inspired people all around the world, not just in the LGBT community.  Earlier this month, he attended the White House Conference on Bullying Prevention. The video of his entire speech can be found below as well as his appearance on the Ellen Show.

Mr. Burns is heavily involved in advocating for the passage of the anti-bullying bills working through the Texas Legislature this session.  He came to speak with our class about his efforts with the anti-bullying legislation.  He told us advocacy is all about picking your battles, and he is focusing on teacher resources.  According to Mr. Burns, the first problem in Texas is the inability to track bullying because there is no set definition in the law books.  Because of this, he said, teachers don’t have the tools—the definition and training—to effectively educate about bullying.  He also said there has been a societal switch so that what happens at school may not get back to the parents by the end of the day like it used to, especially with the increase in cyberbullying.  This can make the bullied feel like nothing is being done about the situation, he said.  Whether one agrees or disagrees with Mr. Burns, he is an influential voice in the debate on the anti-bullying legislation in Texas. 

Legislation Tracker

There has been progress on all of the anti-bullying bills I am tracking in Texas this legislative session, except for SB 245, Wendy Davis’s bill.  All of the bills are presently still in committee and all except SB 245 have been through a public hearing and have been left pending in committee for now.  All of the bills along with more detailed progress are listed below:

• 82(R) HB 224-considered in public hearing in Public Education Committee, committee substitute considered, testimony taken, registration recorded, left pending in committee (March 1). 
• 82(R) SB 245-no movement since being read first time and referred to the Education Committee.
• 82(R) HB 24- considered in public hearing in Public Education Committee, committee substitute considered, testimony taken, registration recorded, left pending in committee (March 29). 
• 82(R) HB 130- considered in public hearing in Human Services Committee, committee substitute considered, testimony taken, registration recorded, left pending in committee (March 1). 
• 82(R) HB 170- considered in public hearing in Public Education Committee, testimony taken, registration recorded, left pending in committee (March 29).
• 82(R) SB 42- considered in public hearing in Education Committee, testimony taken, left pending in committee (March 22). 
• 82(R) SB 205- considered in public hearing in Education Committee, testimony taken, left pending in committee (March 22). 
• 82(R) SB 242- co-authors authorized (February 28, March 16), considered in public hearing in Education Committee, testimony taken, left pending in committee (March 22). 

--Michael Dabbs