An anti-bullying measure which would have made Carson the first city in California to criminalize bullying suffered defeat at Tuesday’s city council meeting.
Bullying as defined in the failed ordinance is harassment in the form of cyberbullying as well as physical torment against anyone between the ages of four and 25.
The failed ordinance was “intended to fill the gap left in the California criminal justice system by criminalizing harassment,” according to a report by the City of Carson staff.
The legislation, which was sponsored by Mike Gipson (D-Carson) was shot down by a 3-2 vote, according to KTLA 5. The measure outlined that parents would be held liable, even to the point of facing criminal charges, if their children violated the ordinance, which it describes as causing “a reasonable person to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, threatened, harassed or molested.”
A subsequent vote approved funding for an anti-bullying campaign, which Carson City Staff have been instructed to draft a plan for and which will be reviewed by the council within 60 to 90 days, according to KTLA 5.
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