Gay student bullied and killed

I recently read an article in the state news about a 15 year old student shot because he was gay. THere was a vigil held in Lansing for the student as well as to raise awareness about a bill that will be going to the Senate which will require schools to have a uniform anti-bullying code.
I think that this bill is an important piece of legislature but I think something more proactive needs to be done in schools to stop bullying before it even starts. One important way of doing this is getting students to see that many minority groups are just like them and have many of the same emotions and feelings that they do.
Bullying starts because of a misunderstanding and intolerance for others. Teachers need to work to create an atmosphere that makes all students feel comfortable and safe. Teachers also need to help students become aware of minority groups that may be too scared to talk openly about how they feel and show their true identity.
A great way for teachers to open up the conversation in their classrooms is to take a piece of literature that can get students talking about different groups of people and how the text may depict a group differently than the students would have thought and therefore allows them to question the stereotypes that exist in their class, school, and community.
This can also be a great way to get students talking with their parents about the student's feelings, and even their own identity. Anything that can get parents and children talking about issues that are sometimes hard to talk about is a really great thing.