In 2002, Matt Epling, 13, was said to have a pleasant personality and wanted to pursue an acting career. On the last day of junior high school, Matt was assaulted by an upperclassman at a “Welcome to High School” event at the high school where he was being enrolled. Several weeks after the incident, on the night before Mr. and Mrs. Epling planned to go to the police station to file charges, Matt took his own life.
In October 2011, the Michigan State Senate passed an anti-bullying bill, “Matt’s Safe School Law,” named after Matt Epling. The Senate’s first version of the bill was censured because the law stated students cannot be disciplined for a statement of a deeply-held religious belief or moral conviction of a school employee, volunteer, student or a student’s parent or guardian. The bill could have been interpreted as a permit to bully. For example, the bill would have allowed a religious person, who found homosexuality to be a sin, to openly discriminate against someone who was gay.
Kevin Epling, Matt’s father, said he was “ashamed” of the law and that the lawmakers “tarnished the memory of the person the bill is named after.”
After the bill was presented and passed by the Republican Senate, Democratic Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer fully criticized the bill with an emotional voice. Whitmer states, in a recorded clip from Senate TV posted on Youtube, “This bill claims to be protecting kids, but actually puts them in more danger. For those kids who have taken their own lives, if this bill was presented before their deaths, it still would not have prevented anything. This bill is worse than doing nothing! This bill is a license to bully!”
The House’s version of the bill was passed on November 2, 2011, by a vote of 88-12. And the Senate voted 35-2. The House’s version excluded the religious language. After the House’s version of the bill was passed, Whitmer said, “It’s a victory for me, but more importantly, it’s a victory for students across the state.”
Mr. Epling said he supported the House’s version of the bill.