Almost two years after a viral speech made him an instant celebrity, gay Fort Worth Councilman Joel Burns is enjoying another round of TV appearances this week to discuss the state’s new anti-bullying law.
Burns has been vocal about his personal experience with bullying when he was teen at Crowley High School and about the need for bullying legislation. He was on WFAA last week and KTVT this morning to discuss House Bill 1492, which the Texas Legislature passed last year. It went into effect Sept. 1 of this year.
During today’s interview, Burns talked about being beaten up his high school gym as a freshman at 13 and his speech before City Council almost two years ago.
“And I realized that that is a lifelong impact,” he said about bullying. “It’s something you carry with you for the rest of your life.”
Burns said he is “very proud” of the new bill, which he lobbied for in Austin, but he called it a baseline and encouraged parents to contact their school boards to help add on to the bill’s requirements.
The bill does not include LGBT protections, but both Dallas and Fort Worth ISD have included LGBT protections in their policies.
Burns will be back on KTVT at 4 p.m. today.
Watch the videos below.
