A Bad Idea

City Council Mayor Pro Tem Brad McGirr has proposed the City Council look into a City Ordnance against bullying in the City of Rancho Santa Margarita. While I think Brad is one of the good guys in government, I think this is a bad idea.

Bullying is an area which is already addressed by many laws. Penal Code Sections 240-242 address assault and battery. Penal Code Sections 646.9 and 527.6 address stalking. The California Educational Code addresses bullying in schools and has expanded to include social media. Since the majority of these cases involve school age kids, there are steps in place, by the appropriate authority, the State of California, to address these issues.

A major issue with bullying is the definitions used in new laws. Since this is a new area of litigation, new bullying laws will invite expensive challenges, by various groups, to the law. Are we suggesting spending the city’s budget surplus, to spend years in court advancing a new area restricting citizens’ activities?

The Second Amendment of the Constitution provides protections for most forms of speech. You do not have a right to silence others because they make remarks you consider rude or thoughtless. An expensive part of the litigation will be drawing the lines between Constitutional Rights and restrictive speech. This is an expensive and precarious mine field to enter. Should the city be found to have restricted a person’s protected speech, the award could wipe out surpluses for years to come.

After the litigation comes administrative costs. The City Attorney will have to handle the additional prosecutions. The City Attorney will also have to set up the administrative process, to administer the diversion programs mentioned in the proposal. Each step requires additional people and additional expenditures.

I think all parents are concerned about bullies. We are the first line of defense in protecting our children. We have the ability to call other parents and point out problems between our children. Our schools have trained staff to intervene. When cases get out of hand, we have the California Penal Code with solutions for those who just don’t get it.

As a former police officer I have a real fear when our children come in contact with the judicial system. There are times when calling the police is the only alternative. I just believe it should be reserved for the most egregious cases.

Once our City Council starts getting involved in social issues, the basics of running our city lose their priority. The State of California is the correct area to develop laws dealing with the bullying issue. We should not fall into the trap of others and start regulating plastic bags, requiring solar panels and taking part in social engineering. Our city is great because it is well run. Our City Council has plenty to keep them busy without putting us at risk for expensive lawsuits involving issues better handled by the State.