POL 327 6-2 Interest Groups
"Relief is only to be found in the ways of regulating its EFFECTS," the quote reads. "The
CAUSES of faction cannot be eliminated" (Madison, 1787). Competing groups would challenge
one another's forces and prevent one another from becoming too dominant, as the U.S.
Constitution's authors foresaw. I believe the framers did not intend for legislation with its roots in
human decency and meant to safeguard children to be obstructed by conflicting interests, even
though I trust the process. The Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act, supported by the
Megan Meier Institute and endorsed by 20 lawmakers, is an example of this. While many
opposed to the Act, like the ACLU, worry that it may jeopardize First Amendment rights,
advocates of the Act claim that any problems will be resolved or avoided by executive privilege.
In 2006, Lori Drew, then fifty, pretended to be a teenage lad on social networking, made friends
with Megan Meier, her next-door neighbor, and then drove off, expecting the 13-year-old to
commit herself. Because there was no statute of limitations for Megan Meier's tormentor's
heinous act, investigators were obliged to file lesser charges under the Computer Fraud and
Abuse Act (CFAA) (Meredith, 2010). Children who are being bullied in real life by cyberbullies
hiding beneath monitors require prevention from harassment more than ever.
Sadly, as we have seen with the reintroduction of the Equal Rights Amendment in 1971, fights
between opposing special groups may go on in Congress for decades (National Archives, n.d.).
Public opinion may change while a measure is pending passage or ratification, as it did with the
ERA, causing it to lose crucial support. In 44 states, cyberbullying is already a misdemeanor,
however these laws place the onus of enforcement on the schools by forcing them to create rules
to assist prevent bullying both on and off campus if the crime "was undertaken with the aim of
disrupting school." Shirley Walters, a former state lawmaker who sponsored a similar measure in
Arkansas in 2007, "agrees that an unequivocal prohibition on cyberbullying is necessary."
To address the constitutional breach and provide funding for local institutions to perform greater
preventative and treatment programs that will safeguard children, federal legislation is required.
The suffering of children while various lobby groups negotiate is ethically repugnant.
References
Curtis, T. (2009, December 3). Area Suicide linked to Cyber Bullying. Area Wide News.
https://www.areawidenews.com/story/1591892.html
Madison, J. (1787). The Federalist 10. Library of Congress. https://guides.loc.gov/federalist-
papers/text-1-10#s-lg-box-wrapper-25493273
Meredith, J. P. (2010) "Combating Cyberbullying: Emphasizing Education over
Criminalization." Federal Communications Law Journal: Vol. 63:1.
https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/fclj/vol63/iss1/13
National Archives. (n.d.). Martha Griffiths and the Equal Rights Amendment. The Center for
Legislative Archives. https://www.archives.gov/legislative/features/griffiths
