I guess NATSLA – that is, the “North American Teacher/Student Love Association”* – will have to look for members in places other than Michigan. That’s because the Michigan legislature will likely pass a bill that would make it a crime for teachers and students to have sex.
It’s incredible that such a bill is necessary. Can’t we just expect the tiny fraction of overly-randy teachers to control themselves? Apparently not.
So the full-time Michigan legislature – which is often looking for new laws to pass to fill its time – is tackling the issue head-on.
MLive.com reports:The bill was sparked by concerns from prosecutors who said they were unable to charge teachers who had sex with students after the students turned 18, including one who waited until the day after the girl's birthday before taking to her a hotel room.
Who’s willing to bet this teacher splurged and rented a room at the Holiday Inn Express instead of the usual Super 8? Anybody?
Why aren’t the unions cleaning out their own ranks, thereby making such a bill unnecessary? It’s hard for union teachers to demand to be treated like professionals when issues like this must be addressed.
But never fear: Those deep-thinking legislators did raise some concerns.
While the measure was approved unanimously by the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Steve Bieda, D-Warren, said during hearings that he had some concerns because the law would cover people such as volunteers, student teachers and adult education teachers, who might be closer in age to 18-year-old students.
Uh huh. And?
A comment was posted on the Michiganvotes.org site posing a similar concern:
What if a student is held back a few years, and doesn't graduate until she's 20? And what if there's a kind young man teacher, fresh out of college? Why must the state make their love a crime?
Their love doesn’t have to be a crime, as long as they wait until graduation to act on it.
Perhaps there will be a day when we can all agree that some things just shouldn’t happen, such as teachers engaging in promiscuous behavior with students. Is that really too much to ask?
*Note: Before I spark a riot, I should divulge that NATSLA doesn’t actually exist – yet. It was simply a play on words, based on the name of a well-known organization that promotes sexual relations between adults and children.
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