Rally Against Bullying LANSING (MPRN) -


Parents, educators, and students were at the state Capitol today to lobby the Senate to pass an anti-bullying bill.

The bill would require every school to have an anti-bullying policy, and to back it up with action.

Brad Murphy's 15-year-old son committed suicide a year ago. Murphy says Austin was a frequent target of bullies - and the schools anti-bullying rules didn't help.

"They weren't really being instituted. They were there, but nobody was paying any attention to them," says Murphy.

The measure would require schools to outline what steps will be taken when bullying is reported. The bill has been approved by the House, but it's still a long way from the governor's desk. It's been before the Senate Education Committee since last year.

Opponents of the legislation say it would create narrow categories of students that the law would seek to protect from bullying. One of those categories is students who are gay, or perceived as gay. © Copyright 2010, MPRN