RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA – Mayor Pro Tem Brad McGirr plans to introduce an ordinance Wednesday that would make Rancho Santa Margarita the first city in California to outlaw bullying.

The ordinance, drafted by McGirr, a civil attorney, would impose a fine on parents or guardians whose children bully other minors physically, verbally or psychologically. It specifically includes cyberbullying, such as posting harmful messages on social media.

McGirr said he decided to draft the ordinance after watching a YouTube video of Amanda Todd, a 15-year-old Canadian girl who said she was bullied. She later committed suicide. A recent assault of a teenage boy by two other teenagers in Ladera Ranch also spurred McGirr to act, he said.

When he was a child, McGirr said a fellow student would flick his ears, throw him against lockers, spit in his food and shoot him with a BB gun.

“It’s always been an issue that bothered me,” said McGirr, who’s running for re-election in November. “It has to start locally, and we have to send the message out there.”

The state education code addresses bullying at school. The law requires school districts to adopt anti-bullying policies and school officials to intervene when they witness bullying.

McGirr said his ordinance would help protect children off school premises and outside of school activities, allowing the Sheriff’s Department to investigate cases that don’t rise to the level of assault, battery, stalking, harassment or other criminal acts.

A conviction would bring a $100 fine for the first offense, $200 for the second and $500 thereafter. Each offense would be an infraction.

IS IT CONSTITUTIONAL, EFFECTIVE?

In May, city officials in Carson failed to pass an anti-bullying ordinance that would have punished children and their parents. Opponents criticized the ordinance as too vague in its definition of bullying and said it could stigmatize children accused of bullying.

McGirr said his definition of bullying is narrower than what was proposed in Carson, and his ordinance wouldn’t penalize children.

UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh specializes in First Amendment and cyberspace law. He said McGirr’s ordinance could conflict with free speech rights.

“This proposal is a very bad idea, and likely unconstitutionally vague and overbroad,” said Volokh, who reviewed a copy of the proposed ordinance.

“Some things it punishes, such as threats and believable impersonation, are indeed properly punishable,” he said. “But it potentially covers a much broader range of speech as well.”

For example, Volokh said, if a 17-year-old girl breaks up with her classmate because he cheated on her and she writes about it on Facebook, that may “distress the boyfriend, or even lead him to be socially ostracized by his circle.”

According to McGirr’s proposed ordinance, Volokh said, the teen girl has engaged in “intentional, unwelcome … verbal act(s)” and her parents might be found guilty.

“Of course, they could argue that the girl’s speech was constitutionally protected, and I’d agree with that, but they’d need to be constitutional lawyers – or pay a lot of money to one – to figure it out,” Volokh said.

Peter Sheras, a professor and clinical psychologist at the University of Virginia who specializes in adolescent development, questions whether the ordinance would be an effective deterrent.

He said anti-bullying ordinances are difficult to enforce because bullying is a broad term and a complex issue. Sheras said a better solution is for schools to offer mandatory anti-bullying programs for parents.

“There’s no one-size-fits-all solution,” Sheras said. “Much more is needed than just the punishment.”

NEED FOR CHANGE

McGirr said he will not ask the council to pass the ordinance at Wednesday’s meeting. Instead, he will introduce the idea and ask the council to allow him to take the ordinance to stakeholders, such as parents and teachers, for their input.

“I recognize that there’s always going to be a challenge to the constitutionality of it,” McGirr said. “But that doesn’t change the need to explore the issue of bullying further and explore a way to provide parents with additional methods to protect their children.”

Anna Mendez, executive director of San Clemente-based National Association of People Against Bullying, applauded McGirr’s proposal.

“I think it’s absolutely necessary, because right now we are only talking about controlling school environment,” Mendez said. The Internet and social media have allowed bullying to continue outside of school, she said.

Mendez’s 16-year-old son, Daniel Mendez, shot and killed himself May 1, 2009. His family sued Capistrano Unified School District and four individuals, claiming Daniel Mendez had been bullied throughout middle and high school. The lawsuit was settled out of court. The case was dismissed in 2011.

Anna Mendez said she would like to see McGirr’s ordinance penalize children as well.

“But it’s a start in the right direction,” she said. “At least it encourages parents to take responsibility of their children.”

Contact the writer: 949-454-7347 or tshimura@ocregister.com