Franken's bull

Senator Al Franken recently introduced the Student Non-Discrimination Act, a bill which "would prohibit discrimination based on actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. If [the bill is] signed into law, public schools that violate the statute could lose federal funding or be sued by victims" (MPR).
Asked why the bill only addresses bullying for sexual orientation, Franken had this to say:

Franken: Well, uh, we, you know, [bullying] - is illegal for so many reasons that--you know, race, religion, uh, national origin, disability, uh--I guess, I guess you can say that bullying--then it kind of depends on what you're talking about. If, you know, I guess kids have a right not to bully, but to basically, you know, tease each other about the stupidest things, but certainly not about those things...You know, "I don't like your taste in TV shows," or something like that--
Wurzer: What constitutes harassment under your bill, specifically?
Franken: Uh, I think that harassment and bullying is really, uh, it's one of these things that you know it when you see it.
Wurzer: Does--but does the bill outline anything specific?
Franken: I don't, uh, believe we have the language in it to define bullying, but maybe I do. I'm not--I'm not sure about that aspect of, of the bill. I know that it's, it's, it's defined the same way as it is for, um, race or for religion, or, um, the, uh, disability--the other reasons that are outlawed in, in--nationally. In other words, all these other things, uh, are, are national, uh, but not, uh, gay and lesbian.
Wurzer: How would a court determine that a school ignored harassment? Have you figured that out yet?
Franken: Uh, I think that they would just, uh, the facts of the case--I mean, that would be up to the court, and if the, um--you know, what I'm hoping is, is this'll start disappearing. Unfortunately, it's all too--it's almost sanctioned, as you can tell by the story in Anoka, by the schools, and I think that once we raise awareness about this, and have a law, that it'll, it'll, uh, bring down the incidence of this and make life a lot better for these kids.

Franken's argumentation could be deemed a logical fallacy could he be credited with logic. For example, the speaker diverts attention away from the fact in dispute rather than address it directly, which is called an irrelevant conclusion. Furthermore, his reasoning is circular since the statement that bullying comes in many shapes and sizes is simply repeated in different ways. Logial fallacy or not, the discourse is absurd.
There is a bill against bullying but it does not have the language in it to define bullying because bullying is just one of these things that you know when you see it. The bill is supposed to raise awareness about and bring down incidences of bullying. What an incident of bullying is, however, kind of depends on what you're talking about. Clear enough?
So, what is bullying? According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the original meaning of this word is "sweetheart," applied to either sex, from Dutch boel or German buhle , meaning lover. In the 17th century, the word’s meaning changed from "fine fellow" to "blusterer" and "harasser of the weak." In 1706, bully was applied to a "protector of a prostitute," in other words a pimp. In 19th century America, however, the slang phrase bully for you! was again positive, referring to someone "worthy, jolly, admirable."
Adding such an etymological note as preamble to the Senator’s bill - just to add to the confusion - and the directive that "kids have a right not to bully" as an amendment could surely help the courts to determine whether they deal with an incident of bullying or not.