Ontario Passes Anti-Bullying Bill

Over the screams of the Catholic Church, today the Ontario provincial legislature passed Bill 13, the anti-bullying ordinance that orders all schools to allow gay-straight clubs. Bill 13 was launched after the suicide of a 14 year-old gay boy, whose own father opposed the bill.

Catholic schools and parents will soon come to accept the provisions of the government's anti-bullying legislation, according to Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty. Ontario's anti-bullying bill, also known as Bill 13 or the Accepting Schools Act, passed through the legislature just before noon today by a margin of 65-36. Only the Progressive Conservatives voted against the legislation. Catholic educators and church leaders oppose the bill because it requires schools to allow students to call anti-homophobia clubs gay-straight alliances if they wish. McGuinty said the issue of protecting kids from bullying transcends all faiths and partisan politics. He added Catholics would understand the true significance of the bill is to build a stronger, more cohesive society.

Conservatives claim the bill is actually meant to cause Ontario to defund non-compliant Catholic schools.

UPDATE: The anti-gay LifeSiteNews weighs in.

“The battle begins,” said Mary Ellen Douglas, president of Campaign Life Coalition Ontario. ““The Minister of Education has said she will force the GSAs on Catholic schools, more or less whether they like it or not.” “I’m hoping that the bishops of Ontario realize what the implications are of this vote and for Catholic schools and will stand firmly with their people behind them,” she continued. “We have to wake up the people who are paying those tax bills about what has just happened in the legislature today.” The “anti-bullying bill” faced months of protests by parents and pro-family advocates who believe its hyper-focus on homosexual-related bullying represents a threat to parental rights and religious freedom.