Mayor Ron Nirenberg, Police Chief Bill McManus and several members of San Antonio City Council gathered on the front steps of City Hall to recite the 'David's Law Pledge' to not use their phone or electronic devices as a weapon, and to not participate in cyber bullying, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
The event was hosted by Russell Rush of iHeartMedia's 96.1 Now Radio, which has made promoting the fight against cyber bullying part of their programming.
The David's Legacy Foundation led the drive to pass an anti cyber bullying law in the Regular Session of the Legislature, ramping up penalties for cyber bullying and allowing police departments and school districts greater tools to crack down on cyber bullying. "The pledge is named after David's Law, which was signed by Governor Abbott in June to prevent cyber bullying, which will soon take effect all over Texas," said Maurine Molak, the co-founder of the David's Legacy Foundation.
"Our goal is to empower teens so they will never use their digital devices for harm in the first place," she said.
Maureen's son, David Molak, killed himself in 2016 after dealing with vicious online bullying. The foundation was formed in his honor to teach kids about the problem of cyber bullying.
"Today is a true example of how the San Antonio people come together to fight for such a significant issue," Nirenberg said.
"From their own unimaginable hardship, they were able to change the lives of children across the state for the better." Joining Nirenberg and the other officials wee dozens of students, who also took the pledge never to participate in cyber bullying.
"The reality is that every one of us here need to be a role model," said State Sen. Jose Menendez, who is the co-author of David's Law. "We have to all take a strong stance against bullying by everybody."
Menendez compared the campaign against cyberbullying to the campaigns to encourage people not to litter, and to use seat belts.
"It's just the right thing to do - to treat each other right," he said.
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