Teen bullies in Tennessee could also be banned from driving below new regulation | EUROtoday

Teenage bullies in Tennessee could also be banned from driving or getting their learner’s allow below a brand new regulation.

Last yr, Tennessee lawmakers obtained severe about addressing bullying. It handed laws, which, partly, expanded the definition of harassment to incorporate bullying and cyberbullying.

Now the state goes after the driving privileges of minors discovered responsible of bullying whether or not in particular person or on-line. The newly signed regulation, which took impact on Tuesday, requires juvenile courtroom judges to droop the minor’s driver’s license or their means to get a learner’s allow for one yr.

The regulation, which was handed with sturdy bipartisan help within the state legislature, provides first-time offenders the prospect to use for a restricted license, which permits them to drive to high school, work and church.

State Representative Lowell Russell, who sponsored the laws, wrote on Facebook on Monday, “Most acts of violence or suicides are results of being bullied. I sponsored this bill in hopes to prevent children from being bullied and in hopes to prevent tragic events.”

Kristy Prater, an area mother of three who helps the brand new regulation, informed WBIR, “I mean, it might be 100 kids or 500 kids, but if these kids are out here doing this, they got to be disciplined to know right from wrong.”

Prater said her son, Kyle, was bullied for years in elementary and middle school, and she worries about her younger children.

“I feel like it’s actually going to get worse because the way the world is now—everything is on the internet,” she said.

Rodger Dinwiddie, CEO of Students Taking A Right Stand Nashville, is unsure whether the law will have a significant impact on bullying.

“Just removing the driver’s license doesn’t seem to me to really address some of the issues, because the majority of bullying that occurs, by the way, not necessarily at the high school level, particularly when kids are able to drive,” Dinwiddie, who is a consultant in bullying prevention and intervention, told WKRN.

Nashville criminal defense attorney David G. Ridings applauded the bill, telling ABC News, “Good job Tennessee! More states should follow the example.”