Religious Distinctions in Anti-Bullying Legislation Cause Debate on Facebook

New anti-bullying legislation has folks on Facebook in a debate about how far students and teachers should be allowed to go in the name of religion.

However, the legislation makes a distinction that when done in the name of religion, a bully cannot be held accountable.

The law does not "prohibit a statement of a sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction of a school employee, school volunteer, pupil, or a pupil's parent or guardian."

Some Facebook users have taken this to mean it is acceptable to tell a student he or she is "going to hell" because of his or her sexual orientation.

The law now moves on to the Republican-led House of Representatives and we want to know your thoughts on the issue that is gaining speed on the Internet.

Here are some comments from Facebook users:

Jema McCardell: "Bullying is wrong, period. But I wonder if the wording was added to avoid simple statement of one's beliefs such as "I believe that homosexuality is against the will of God" to be prosecutable. To me, that is not bullying. USING that belief to harass someone, that is bullying and completely against the teachings of Christ."

Steve Baggett: "one of Sunset's 9 or 10 year olds was facing suspension for telling a catholic friend he was in danger of going to hell. definitely misguided, but suspension?"

Andrew Kruczek: "uh.. no. it's not ok to bully anyone."

Mandi Miskell Stemen: "Absolutely not. There is never any justified reason for bullying!"

Jessica LaCroix: "It is never ok to be hateful to anyone, esp in the "name of God". If you want to bring God into it he simply asks us to love one another and not to judge... Dont get me started on this subject. I agree with David politicians are stupid."

Jeff Brown: "Bullying or the most bloodshed in the history of the world because of religious beliefs?"

Tiffanie Wood Harper: "Religion is political. I am a christian. But I am anti religion. How many people did Jesus bully when he walked on earth?"

Now tell us what you think.