Activists delivered tens of thousands of signatures to the Union-Scioto Local School District on Wednesday.
The petition called for changes to be made in the district following the assault of a gay student, 10TV’s Andy Hirsch reported.
15-year-old, Zach, who requested that his last name be withheld, said he was attacked because he is gay. He also said the attacker posted a gay slur on Facebook the night before.
The beating was caught on camera, and that video caught Bret Thompson's attention.
Thompson said the video motivated him to start gathering signatures on an online petition calling for an end to the bullying.
“I saw (the video) and I thought, this doesn't reflect Ohio values,” said Thompson. “We can do better than this.”
The petition called for the Union-Scioto Local School District to change its bullying policy to specifically protect students who are attacked because of their sexual orientation.
“Really, all students deserve a safe education, and we need to help stand up for them,” Thompson said.
Members of Equality Ohio joined Thompson to deliver the petition that carried more than 82,000 signatures.
The Ross County prosecutor said that the attacker in the video pleaded guilty to assault.
According to the prosecutor, the student who attacked Zach is on a home monitoring system while he awaits his sentence.
Thompson said this is a problem that reaches outside of Ross County.
“I think we also need to look at a state-wide solution so this isn't a battle that has to be fought in every single town across Ohio until students are assured their right to safe education,” Thompson said.
Union-Scioto Local School District Superintendent Dwight Garrett said that he could not discuss the case because of potential legal action from the ACLU.
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