Mississippi school prom off after lesbian's date request

[afixer]

JACKSON — A northern Mississippi school district decided Wednesday not to host a high school prom after a lesbian student demanded she be able to attend with her girlfriend and wear a tuxedo.

the rest of the story (http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/03/10/4003745-miss-school-prom-off-after-lesbians-date-request)

[suebee]

I wonder if a privately hosted prom will be subject to a human rights complaint.

[apretty]

I am so proud of Constance McMillen and her date for standing up for themselves--that's doing the hard work.

more info: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/11/AR2010031101245.html

[Apocalipstic]

2010 and still the same issues as when I was in high school.

[NJFemmie]

Wow, now I remember at my senior prom - there were several girls that went together. (This is back in the 80's). Hell, I wish I did!

Granted, they (weren't to my knowledge) lesbians - but - it was no big deal that two girls were each other's dates - and, it was a Catholic High School to boot.

Perhaps if it was announced that they were gay it might have been different - or maybe the fact that homosexuality is tolerated differently up here than in Mississippi, who knows.

[Apocalipstic]

Wow, now I remember at my senior prom - there were several girls that went together. (This is back in the 80's). Hell, I wish I did!

Granted, they (weren't to my knowledge) lesbians - but - it was no big deal that two girls were each other's dates - and, it was a Catholic High School to boot.

Perhaps if it was announced that they were gay it might have been different - or maybe the fact that homosexuality is tolerated differently up here than in Mississippi, who knows.

Wayyyyyy differently!

[apretty]

i would love if they got their prom after all--and it would be easy to send them someplace else for a fabulous night out, but that's not the point--prom is supposed to be a few hours at a dance, surrounded by friends, wearing uncomfortable formal attire and taking pictures and drinking punch.

it's stupid and obvious that canceling prom was meant to target the couple and cause a backlash from their peers.

how unfortunate all around, i hope the district gets it's pants sued off (for making the 2 students a target).

[Diva]

I just read this story......good God. What an unfortunate state of affairs.....I hope that school district gets handed their ass.

[Apocalipstic]

i would love if they got their prom after all--and it would be easy to send them someplace else for a fabulous night out, but that's not the point--prom is supposed to be a few hours at a dance, surrounded by friends, wearing uncomfortable formal attire and taking pictures and drinking punch.

it's stupid and obvious that canceling prom was meant to target the couple and cause a backlash from their peers.

how unfortunate all around, i hope the district gets it's pants sued off (for making the 2 students a target).

Meeeee tooooo!

Idiots!

[apretty]

off topic: they should really be concerning themselves with designated drivers and unprotected sex, and what constitutes consent when it comes to sex.

then again, i live in the real world, not the christian-pretend-it-doesn't-exist world.

[Rockinonahigh]

When I went to high school at or jr/sr prom there were several girls as well as boys that were at the prom together in groups..I definatly remember several girls wearing a tux...yes I did say tux...me(baby butch in the makeing) being one of them.I got some bs about it but they didnt.What was the diffrents..They were wearing heels and had a flash of femme bling hear and there.When the teachers started on me about wearing a tux one of my gym teachers steped in as well as several of the guys I grew up with who were big hulking football palyers at the school and put a stop to it.One of the teachers said if I had worne heels insted of dress shoes nothing would have beens said.This was in the 60's.In the end I stayed at the prom..had a good time...danced with a date..had a pic take with her.The down side was ..my school transcripts were misplaced...I had to take my exit exames over to graduate and it was nearly fall before I got my graduation certificate.

[Medusa]

I just sent Constance a message on Facebook inviting her to our "Big Gay Prom" at the Reunion and wished her luck and strength.

Hopefully she will feel supported with an outpouring of love and good messages.

xo

[Rockinonahigh]

Madusa..Fantastic..right on..:party::guitar:

[Soft*Silver]

good lord. Seriously? They are going to have a private group put on a prom just so they dont have to allow a lesbian couple to attend a prom? Goddddddddddd..what POWER we have over the straight people!

Of course I am being sarcastic.... :hamactor:

I hope she takes Medusa up on her offer to attend the Big Gay Prom. But I also wish that on the night that the prom was to be held, people would show up in prom outfits and picket the damn school...

[Andrew, Jr.]

For one night to be with their peers...what a shame. And in this day and age.

Madusa, God bless you for your compassion, love, and support. You are a wonderful role model. :mountie:

[apretty]

I just sent Constance a message on Facebook inviting her to our "Big Gay Prom" at the Reunion and wished her luck and strength.

Hopefully she will feel supported with an outpouring of love and good messages.

xo

love this!

will you let us know if she responds? i'd love to be a part of sponsoring the couple! <3

[Jet]

With attitudes like that, I think going to the bowling alley would be more fun than the prom.

[Corkey]

Signed the petition.

[torchiegirl]

For goodness sake, have they not watched daytime television? Anytime cable or dish? Gone to the mall? *looking through binoculars at the ever elusive....... hurry, get my photo!

[Queerasfck]

Last year I watched a documentary on HBO about Prom Night in Mississippi. This school had always had two proms, one for blacks and one for whites.
http://festival.sundance.org/2009/film_events/films/prom_night_in_mississippi

[Medusa]

love this!

will you let us know if she responds? i'd love to be a part of sponsoring the couple! <3

You bet! I am watching her friends #s climb on facebook and hope that she will get back with me pretty soon. She might be kinda swamped with her new-found queer "fame".

This particular area and even this particular school is known for its backwards, ignorant, asshattish policies on race, sexual tolerance, etc. I feel sorry for any person attending school there.

I just left a message with the school board and am emailing all of the district heads individually to express my disappointment and outrage. I am also sending letters to the school board, local paper, and emailing the news stations.

It's time to act up, folks.

[Medusa]

Last year I watched a documentary on HBO about Prom Night in Mississippi. This school had always had two proms, one for blacks and one for whites.
http://festival.sundance.org/2009/film_events/films/prom_night_in_mississippi


YES! I remember this being in the paper for a while there and also saw the documentary.

There is also a good documentary on one of (if not the only) the gay clubs there. The area is SUPER repressed.

[evolveme]

As recently as Spring 2008, at least one Mississippi town still hosted racially segregated proms. Actor Morgan Freeman helped ensure his hometown's first integrated prom (by paying for it) and a documentary was made. Many students still refused to attend. So, I am hardly surprised that an entire event would be shut down because of a queer young woman's desire to attend her prom in my home state.

Here's the story on Charleston, Mississippi's first integrated prom. (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91371629)

[Apocalipstic]

It makes me nauseated how close minded people can be. I talk about how the South is great to live in....Yeah, Nashville where most people are from California, Michigan or New York.

ugh ugh ugh

[Greyson]

I just sent Constance a message on Facebook inviting her to our "Big Gay Prom" at the Reunion and wished her luck and strength.

Hopefully she will feel supported with an outpouring of love and good messages.

xo

love this!

will you let us know if she responds? i'd love to be a part of sponsoring the couple! <3



Both great ideas. Count me in, please. I will say again, I think the Administraitors should be ready for some media attention at the Reunion. I just have a feeling, intutition if you will.

[Greyson]

Just a feeling Jack. Maybe my ideas about Little Rock? It is middle America. The "Gay Agenda" is very much on the radar of most media. Yes, it may be private property but how often does Little Rock get an LGBT event going on? Other then the local bar scene? If it is deemed a slow news day, why wouldn't media want to take a look at something that is not the everyday norm of Little Rock? With trepidation, I say "I have a feeling."

Here is another way to look at it. If the event did draw media attention, be ready, prepared to take control of it and take any of the sensationalism out of it. Present in a very matter of fact way, with intelligence, grace, ecetera. Do not allow "haters" to paint the community as abnormal, ignorant, evil, without humanity. Most of us here have straight parents, pay taxes, participate in many things that are not deemed to be part of the "gay agenda."

P.S. "Private" is pretty much non existent in today's world.

[Medusa]

YAY! I get to spout off about Arkansas! :hamactor:

I guess that unless you actually live here it's hard to see past the stereotypical "redneck" or "gay un-friendly" image. (Not talking directly to you here Greyson, just for the general masses)

A few factoids to help get the Queer-friendlyness of Arkansas into perspective:

* The little boy who refused to say the Pledge of Allegiance until Gays have equal rights and who was recently featured on CNN is from the Westfork School district here in Arkansas.
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2009/11/16/cnn-features-boy-who-wont-say-pledge-until-gays-have-equal-rights

* The Miss Gay Arkansas pageant is 38 years strong.
http://www.missgayarkansas.com/ (and has been hosted at the Peabody Hotel, I might add)

* The Miss Gay America pageant was owned by an Arkansan (Norma Kristie) for almost 30 years. I think she bought it in 1975?

* Diversity Pride Events is one of the largest Pride events in the South, held in Eureka Springs, Arkansas.
http://www.diversitypride.com/

* Little Rock has been hosting its own city-wide Pride events for multiple years and are WELL attended :)
http://www.littlerockcapitalpride.org/site/

* The Center for Artistic Revolution is a HUGE Queer-run 501c3 organization that does anti-oppression work all over Arkansas. It's director is a Queer Woman (who I believe is also a member of this site)
http://www.artisticrevolution.org/contents/index.php

* There are multiple Gay/Lesbian clubs all over Little Rock:
Here are a few:
Club UBU http://www.theaquarium.bizland.com/
Discovery Night Club (the oldest and largest in Arkansas and owned by Norma Kristie, former Miss Gay America 1973) http://www.latenightdisco.com/
Backstreet Club http://www.backstreetdanceclub.com/
(There are actually 7 total GLBT-only clubs in the metro Little Rock area)

* The Diamond State Rodeo Association is a GLBTQ organization for Gay and Lesbian cowboys and cowgirls, folks who do rodeo pageants, and they host multiple social events.
http://www.dsra.org/


* Multiple Gay and Lesbian churches.
Here is one with a specifically Gay membership:
http://littlerock.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ/Ya&zTi=1&sdn=littlerock&cdn=citiestowns&tm=11&f=11&tt=14&bt=0&bts=0&zu=http%3A//www.webspawner.com/users/rockofchristchurc/index.html

* Openly Gay House of Representative, Kathy Webb:
http://www.victoryfund.org/endorsed_candidates/profile/candidate:116

* Multiple support groups for Trans folks:
http://ar-tg-support.org/


I could list the multiple openly gay-owned and operated businesses that fly Pride flags year-round but I'd be here all night.

I just want folks to realize that there will be an element of homophobia in EVERY city. Hell, I experienced a great deal of it living in Los Angeles and Atlanta and I bet that most folks would consider them incredibly gay friendly. Arkansas is in the South, for sure, but being a Southern city doesn't equal "podunk" or "redneck" or any of the other number of ignorant things I have heard folks say.
It's a smallish cosmopolitan city :)
I highly doubt we would be on the news unless someone called it in. (I don't intend to)
The Miss Gay Arkansas pageant hasn't ever made the news here (to my recollection) and the only time a Gay Pride event made the news in a negative light was when the first Pride parade was held in Conway, Arkansas (where yours truly was the Grand Princess) and some dumbass spread horse manure on the parade route the night before.
I will also add that they found out who dumped manure on the route and prosecuted it as a hate crime.

No city is perfect, but both Jack and I feel incredibly safe here. We hold hands walking down the street and have never thought twice about giving each other a kiss in public. People pretty much mind their own business. :)

[Greyson]

YAY! I get to spout off about Arkansas! :hamactor:

I guess that unless you actually live here it's hard to see past the stereotypical "redneck" or "gay un-friendly" image. (Not talking directly to you here Greyson, just for the general masses)

A few factoids to help get the Queer-friendlyness of Arkansas into perspective:

* The little boy who refused to say the Pledge of Allegiance until Gays have equal rights and who was recently featured on CNN is from the Westfork School district here in Arkansas.
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2009/11/16/cnn-features-boy-who-wont-say-pledge-until-gays-have-equal-rights

* The Miss Gay Arkansas pageant is 38 years strong.
http://www.missgayarkansas.com/ (and has been hosted at the Peabody Hotel, I might add)

* The Miss Gay America pageant was owned by an Arkansan (Norma Kristie) for almost 30 years. I think she bought it in 1975?

* Diversity Pride Events is one of the largest Pride events in the South, held in Eureka Springs, Arkansas.
http://www.diversitypride.com/

* Little Rock has been hosting its own city-wide Pride events for multiple years and are WELL attended :)
http://www.littlerockcapitalpride.org/site/

* The Center for Artistic Revolution is a HUGE Queer-run 501c3 organization that does anti-oppression work all over Arkansas. It's director is a Butch (who I believe is also a member of this site)
http://www.artisticrevolution.org/contents/index.php

* There are multiple Gay/Lesbian clubs all over Little Rock:
Here are a few:
Club UBU http://www.theaquarium.bizland.com/
Discovery Night Club (the oldest and largest in Arkansas and owned by Norma Kristie, former Miss Gay America 1973) http://www.latenightdisco.com/
Backstreet Club http://www.backstreetdanceclub.com/
(There are actually 7 total GLBT-only clubs in the metro Little Rock area)

* The Diamond State Rodeo Association is a GLBTQ organization for Gay and Lesbian cowboys and cowgirls, folks who do rodeo pageants, and they host multiple social events.
http://www.dsra.org/


* Multiple Gay and Lesbian churches.
Here is one with a specifically Gay membership:
http://littlerock.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ/Ya&zTi=1&sdn=littlerock&cdn=citiestowns&tm=11&f=11&tt=14&bt=0&bts=0&zu=http%3A//www.webspawner.com/users/rockofchristchurc/index.html

* Openly Gay House of Representative, Kathy Webb:
http://www.victoryfund.org/endorsed_candidates/profile/candidate:116

* Multiple support groups for Trans folks:
http://ar-tg-support.org/


I could list the multiple openly gay-owned and operated businesses that fly Pride flags year-round but I'd be here all night.

I just want folks to realize that there will be an element of homophobia in EVERY city. Hell, I experienced a great deal of it living in Los Angeles and Atlanta and I bet that most folks would consider them incredibly gay friendly. Arkansas is in the South, for sure, but being a Southern city doesn't equal "podunk" or "redneck" or any of the other number of ignorant things I have heard folks say.
It's a smallish cosmopolitan city :)
I highly doubt we would be on the news unless someone called it in. (I don't intend to)
The Miss Gay Arkansas pageant hasn't ever made the news here (to my recollection) and the only time a Gay Pride event made the news in a negative light was when the first Pride parade was held in Conway, Arkansas (where yours truly was the Grand Princess) and some dumbass spread horse manure on the parade route the night before.
I will also add that they found out who dumped manure on the route and prosecuted it as a hate crime.

No city is perfect, but both Jack and I feel incredibly safe here. We hold hands walking down the street and have never thought twice about giving each other a kiss in public. People pretty much mind their own business. :)


Thanks Medusa. I'm glad to see that maybe some of my ideas, concerns are out dated. I have never been to Little Rock, and I do support doing Queer events in cities and towns that may not be immediately seen as tolerant.

As for feeling safe, I don't feel safe much of the time but that is not necessarily about geographical location. I think living most of my life as an obvious gender non-conforming Butch, I am perhaps too vigilant.

[Medusa]

Thanks Medusa. I'm glad to see that maybe some of my ideas, concerns are out dated. I have never been to Little Rock, and I do support doing Queer events in cities and towns that may not be immediately seen as tolerant.

As for feeling safe, I don't feel safe much of the time but that is not necessarily about geographical location. I think living most of my life as an obvious gender non-conforming Butch, I am perhaps too vigilant.

We'll see what you think :)
The downtown Little Rock area is really cosmo and has lots of shops, food, and entertainment for every taste. I think folks are going to be surprised :)

[Greyson]

"The Miss Gay Arkansas pageant hasn't ever made the news here (to my recollection) and the only time a Gay Pride event made the news in a negative light was when the first Pride parade was held in Conway, Arkansas (where yours truly was the Grand Princess) and some dumbass spread horse manure on the parade route the night before.
I will also add that they found out who dumped manure on the route and prosecuted it as a hate crime."

You were the Grand Princess of the Pride Parade? Fabulous! I want pictures. Please post some of your pics from this in the gallery.

I have a pic somewhere from about 25 years ago wearing white shorts, one of those shirts with the alligator insignia wearing the starched shirt collar up, sunglasses and riding the float from the LGBT Center in Los Angeles. Hmm, maybe this should be in an 80s thread?

[Medusa]

[QUOTE=Medusa;65092]The Miss Gay Arkansas pageant hasn't ever made the news here (to my recollection) and the only time a Gay Pride event made the news in a negative light was when the first Pride parade was held in Conway, Arkansas (where yours truly was the Grand Princess) and some dumbass spread horse manure on the parade route the night before.
I will also add that they found out who dumped manure on the route and prosecuted it as a hate crime.[QUOTE]

You were the Grand Princess of the Pride Parade? Fabulous! I want pictures. Please post some of your pics from this in the gallery.

I have a pic somewhere from about 25 years ago wearing white shorts, one of those shirts with the alligator insignia wearing the starched shirt collar up, sunglasses and riding the float from the LGBT Center in Los Angeles. Hmm, maybe this should be in an 80s thread?

I can only post pics if there is a thread entitled "Things I will never wear again" (ohhhh, that "Good n' Plenty" skirt was SUCH a bad idea!)

[Soon]

I'm really upset by this story!

This is a public school?


------------------------------
Here's a famous case (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Hall_v._Durham_Catholic_School_Board) in Ontario, Canada that made headlines (2002)--in a Catholic school, no less...and justice won.

Excerpt:

Decision: On May 10, Justice Robert McKinnon granted an interlocutory injunction ordering that Hall be allowed to attend the prom with Dumond. The justice also ordered that the school not cancel the prom. He did not decide on the larger issues raised by the case, leaving those to be heard at a later trial. Hall attended the Prom with Dumond that evening. In 2005, Marc Hall dropped the case.

The Hall case in film

Director Larry Peloso created a one-hour documentary on the case entitled Prom Fight: The Marc Hall Story. An unrelated television movie, Prom Queen: The Marc Hall Story, aired on CTV in 2004 with Aaron Ashmore starring as Hall.
Hall also appeared in the Queer as Folk season 2 finale as a party guest during the Rage party at Babylon.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Hall_v._Durham_Catholic_School_Board

[key]

Lesbian panic shuts down Mississippi high-school prom

That is the headline to this news story. Lesbian Panic???!!!

Geeezus, what has happened to our country? And why are we standing around letting the Christian Taliban define and rule us?

I am so pissed about this.

[Soon]

ACLU DEMANDS MISSISSIPPI SCHOOL ALLOW LESBIAN STUDENT TO ATTEND PROM WITH GIRLFRIEND
(http://www.aclu-ms.org/news/itawambaprom.htm)
For Immediate Release
March 2, 2010

CONTACT:
Brent Cox, ACLU of Mississippi, 601-502-5520, bcox@aclu-ms.org
Chris Hampton, ACLU LGBT Project, 212-549-2673, champton@aclu.org

FULTON, MS - The American Civil Liberties Union and the Mississippi Safe Schools Coalition today demanded that Itawamba County School District officials reverse their decision to forbid a lesbian student from attending prom with her girlfriend and from wearing a tuxedo to the prom. Constance McMillen, a student at Itawamba Agricultural High School, said that school officials told her that she could not arrive at the prom with her girlfriend, also a student at IAHS, and that they might be thrown out if any other students complained about their presence.

"Prom is one of those high school moments everyone should get to experience and enjoy. I didn't go to prom last year, so this is my only chance to go," said McMillen, an 18-year-old senior at the school in Fulton, a small town of about 3,900 in the northeastern corner of Mississippi. "We just want to be able to be ourselves at our own prom."

McMillen said she approached school officials shortly before a memo about prom was circulated at school on February 5 that said same-sex dates would not be allowed, because she knew same-sex dates had been banned from prom in the past. McMillen met with the assistant principal and later the superintendent, who told her that they would not be allowed to arrive together, that she would not be allowed to wear a tuxedo to prom, and that she and her girlfriend might be thrown out if their presence made any other students "uncomfortable" at the April 2 event.

"Prom is supposed to be about all students being able to express themselves, have fun, and make memories that will last the rest of their lives," said Kristy Bennett, Legal Director of the ACLU of Mississippi. "Constance has a constitutional right to take the person she's dating to the prom, just like any other student at any other public school."

In today's letter to Itawamba County School District officials, the ACLU cited federal court cases guaranteeing students' First Amendment right to bring same-sex dates to school dances, and also pointed out that treating McMillen and other lesbian, gay, and bisexual students differently from other students violates the Constitution's equal protection guarantees. In addition to illegally barring McMillen and her girlfriend from attending the prom together, the ACLU said that the school further violated McMillen's free expression rights by telling her that she can't wear a tuxedo to the prom.

"We hope that informing the school about its legal obligations towards its students will make it think twice about treating Constance and her girlfriend any differently than it does any other student couple who wants to go to the prom," said Christine P. Sun, Senior Counsel with the ACLU national Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Project, who represents McMillen along with the ACLU of Mississippi. "Schools that discriminate against lesbian, gay, and bisexual students who want to bring same-sex dates to school dances need to know that by doing so they're violating established federal law, and we will call them on it."

The ACLU and the Mississippi Safe Schools Coalition have given the school district until March 10, 2010 to respond to their letter.
Additional information, including a copy of the school's prom memo and the ACLU's demand letter, is available at http://www.aclu.org/lgbt-rights/fulton-ms-prom-discrimination.

The Mississippi Safe Schools Coalition was formed in the fall of 2008 to address discrimination faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students, or students perceived to be LGBT, in Mississippi public schools and colleges. The MSSC works closely with the ACLU of Mississippi to educate teachers, students, and administrators about the rights of LGBT students with the aim of making schools safer for all. The MSSC is youth-led, and any questions about student rights at prom, starting a gay-straight alliance club, or any other safe schools issues can be directed to Ashley Jackson, facilitator, at ashley@mssafeschools.org.

[Soon]

YouTube- [HW 031210] Help Constance Go To Her Prom

[Rufusboi]

THere was an article in the paper about this today, too. I really liked her father's advice to her. He told her to keep her head up and face her teachers and classmates. SHe wanted to stay home from school the day after the ruling. He told her to show them she is proud of who she is. I'm just happy she has supportive parents that stand by her and keep her strong. It just really makes this school board look bad and backward. But if this ruling makes her strong and keeps her fighting then it is worth it.

Rufus

[Soon]

YouTube- Teen Sues District for Discrimination

[afixer]

good for her.

[Queerasfck]

Last night on the Wanda Sykes Show Constance McMillen was a guest. Constance was asked by Wanda Sykes to be her presenter at GLAAD Awards in April which is being held in Los Angeles. Sykes will receive the Stephen F. Kolzak Award which is presented to an openly LGBT media professional who has made a significant difference in promoting equal rights for our community.

[Soon]

Last night on the Wanda Sykes Show Constance McMillen was a guest. Constance was asked by Wanda Sykes to be her presenter at GLAAD Awards in April which is being held in Los Angeles. Sykes will receive the Stephen F. Kolzak Award which is presented to an openly LGBT media professional who has made a significant difference in promoting equal rights for our community.

YouTube- Wanda Sykes Show Se 1 Episode 16 ( 03/13/2010 ) PART 5 Bill Maher, Lisa Kudrow, Suze Orman

[Soon]

Hey Lesbians, Did You Take a Girl to the Dance/Prom? We Want Your Photos! (http://www.autostraddle.com/lesbian-prom-37132/)

A Mississippi school would rather shut down prom than invite a cute lesbian couple. Well, that’s nonsense! Let’s get visible, lesbian/bisexuals/queers/etc. Autostraddle wants your cute same-sex prom/fancypants/homecoming photos. You could even win a prize!

So this girl Constance McMillen wanted to take a girl to prom, and wear a tux, and the principal was like hell to the no, and then the ACLU got involved, and then the school just decided it would be better to cancel prom altogether. Why are they so afraid of how cute girls look in menswear? No but srsly.
We have a feeling, even though we are old, that some girls are bringing girls to homecoming/prom/fancy-wear day dances these days. Amirite? Are you one of those girls/boys? Well let’s celebrate those photos everyone is so f*cking afraid of! VISIBILITY, LADIES!
Send us your prom photos


GALLERY (http://www.autostraddle.com/lesbian-prom-37132/)

[Soon]

Constance McMillen Is Back in Fulton, Mississippi, Is Super Grateful for Your Support, and Wants You to Be Nice (http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2010/03/16/constance-mcmillen-is-back-in-fulton-mississippi-is-super-grateful-for-your-support-and-wants-you-to-be-nice)

"When it first started, I just wanted to take my girlfriend to prom, you know? I thought it might make the local news and maybe help future LGBT students at Itawamba because hopefully they wouldn’t have to put up with what I did. I sure didn't expect any of this kind of attention. [snip]

"Anytime I feel like this is too hard, I think about the support I'm getting. And I’m just ecstatic that so many people would come together like this. I never dreamed there could be so much support out there for me. It’s just amazing. I’m so thankful. The locals don’t like me, but I can’t help it. And things were really hostile in school last week after they cancelled prom. People were rude, and if people talked to me at all it was real short answers. There are a few people who are with me, my real friends, people who are intelligent enough to realize what's really going on here. But the majority are not on my side." - Mississippi teen Constance McMillen, speaking with Dan Savage, who has been spearheading a national letter writing campaign to the administrators of McMillen's school board.

Join Constance's Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Let-Constance-Take-Her-Girlfriend-to-Prom/357686784817?ref=ts) support group, which currently has over 320K members.

[Soon]

Judge won't force Miss. district to hold prom (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100323/ap_on_re_us/us_lesbian_prom_date)

AP

JACKSON, Miss. – A Mississippi school district violated a lesbian student's rights by banning her from bringing her girlfriend to the prom, a federal judge ruled Tuesday, but he stopped short of forcing the district to hold the event.

U.S. District Judge Glen H. Davidson denied an American Civil Liberties Union request for a preliminary injunction that would have forced the Itawamba County school district to sponsor the April 2 prom and allow Constance McMillen to escort her girlfriend and wear a tuxedo.

Davidson did say he will hold a trial on the issue later, but he did not set a date and any ruling would likely come too late to force the district to hold the prom when it was originally scheduled.

Davidson's order says the district violated McMillen's constitutional rights by denying her request to bring her girlfriend and wear a tuxedo, and ACLU Mississippi legal director Kristy Bennett called that a victory.

She said Davidson's order allows McMillen to amend her petition within 30 days, meaning she could sue for damages because she couldn't get the prom reinstated.

Davidson said he denied the injunction request because a private prom parents are planning will serve the same purpose as the school prom. He wrote in his ruling that "requiring defendants to step back into a sponsorship role at this late date would only confuse and confound the community on the issue."

School officials said in court they decided to call off the prom at Itawamba Agricultural High School because McMillen's challenge to the rules had caused disruptions.

Ben Griffith, the school district's attorney, said his clients were pleased with Davidson's ruling.

McMillen first approached school officials about bringing her girlfriend in December, and again in February. Same-sex prom dates had been banned in the past, but she had hoped school officials would grant her request.

"I thought maybe the policy had been in place for a different reason," McMillen testified at a hearing on the ACLU lawsuit. "I wanted to let them know how it made me feel. I felt like I couldn't go to the prom."

She was told two girls couldn't attend the prom together and she wouldn't be allowed to wear a tuxedo, court documents show. The ACLU issued a demand letter earlier this month and the district responded by canceling the event.
District officials said they felt not hosting the prom was the best decision "after taking into consideration the education, safety and well being of our students." Superintendent Teresa McNeece said it was "a no-win situation."
The 715-student high school is located in Fulton, a town of about 4,000 in rural, north Mississippi. The entire county school district has 3,588 students.
McMillen, who lives with her grandmother and has a 3.8 grade point average, has kept her 16-year-old girlfriend out of the spotlight at the request of the girl's parents.


Her case has become a cause celebre since the school district canceled the prom March 10.

She has appeared on the "The Early Show," "The Wanda Sykes Show" and "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" to talk about how she is fighting for tolerance. DeGeneres presented her with a $30,000 college scholarship from Tonic, a digital media company. A Facebook page set up by the ACLU for McMillen has over 400,000 fans.

The teen has said repeatedly that gay students should have the same rights as the their straight counterparts, and while she has been praised on the national scene, her words mean little to some in Fulton.

McMillen said she encountered "hostility" from students who blamed her for the prom's cancellation.

Days after the district announced it would not host the prom, local townsfolk posted signs on the high school reading "What happened to the Bible Belt?" and "Why would we condone this?"

[Queerasfck]

Judge won't force Miss. district to hold prom (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100323/ap_on_re_us/us_lesbian_prom_date)

AP

JACKSON, Miss. – A Mississippi school district violated a lesbian student's rights by banning her from bringing her girlfriend to the prom, a federal judge ruled Tuesday, but he stopped short of forcing the district to hold the event.

U.S. District Judge Glen H. Davidson denied an American Civil Liberties Union request for a preliminary injunction that would have forced the Itawamba County school district to sponsor the April 2 prom and allow Constance McMillen to escort her girlfriend and wear a tuxedo.

Davidson did say he will hold a trial on the issue later, but he did not set a date and any ruling would likely come too late to force the district to hold the prom when it was originally scheduled.

Davidson's order says the district violated McMillen's constitutional rights by denying her request to bring her girlfriend and wear a tuxedo, and ACLU Mississippi legal director Kristy Bennett called that a victory.

She said Davidson's order allows McMillen to amend her petition within 30 days, meaning she could sue for damages because she couldn't get the prom reinstated.

Davidson said he denied the injunction request because a private prom parents are planning will serve the same purpose as the school prom. He wrote in his ruling that "requiring defendants to step back into a sponsorship role at this late date would only confuse and confound the community on the issue."

School officials said in court they decided to call off the prom at Itawamba Agricultural High School because McMillen's challenge to the rules had caused disruptions.

Ben Griffith, the school district's attorney, said his clients were pleased with Davidson's ruling.

McMillen first approached school officials about bringing her girlfriend in December, and again in February. Same-sex prom dates had been banned in the past, but she had hoped school officials would grant her request.

"I thought maybe the policy had been in place for a different reason," McMillen testified at a hearing on the ACLU lawsuit. "I wanted to let them know how it made me feel. I felt like I couldn't go to the prom."

She was told two girls couldn't attend the prom together and she wouldn't be allowed to wear a tuxedo, court documents show. The ACLU issued a demand letter earlier this month and the district responded by canceling the event.
District officials said they felt not hosting the prom was the best decision "after taking into consideration the education, safety and well being of our students." Superintendent Teresa McNeece said it was "a no-win situation."
The 715-student high school is located in Fulton, a town of about 4,000 in rural, north Mississippi. The entire county school district has 3,588 students.
McMillen, who lives with her grandmother and has a 3.8 grade point average, has kept her 16-year-old girlfriend out of the spotlight at the request of the girl's parents.


Her case has become a cause celebre since the school district canceled the prom March 10.

She has appeared on the "The Early Show," "The Wanda Sykes Show" and "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" to talk about how she is fighting for tolerance. DeGeneres presented her with a $30,000 college scholarship from Tonic, a digital media company. A Facebook page set up by the ACLU for McMillen has over 400,000 fans.

The teen has said repeatedly that gay students should have the same rights as the their straight counterparts, and while she has been praised on the national scene, her words mean little to some in Fulton.

McMillen said she encountered "hostility" from students who blamed her for the prom's cancellation.

Days after the district announced it would not host the prom, local townsfolk posted signs on the high school reading "What happened to the Bible Belt?" and "Why would we condone this?"

What I thought was really telling about Ms. McMillen's belief about all this is that when she was on the Ellen Degeneres show Ellen offered to throw Ms McMillen a prom but she wants to have a prom at her school just like most kids do.
For someone her age to be so driven for doing the right thing is just amazing to me. The ruling was a small victory I guess. Wish more was done.

[Soon]

Trans Student Suspended from Same School in Mississippi That Canceled Prom, Later Hounded Out of Town (http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2010/03/24/itawamba-agricultural-high-school-suspended-a-transgendered-student-back-in-january)

[SuperFemme]

Oh for fucks sake.
This breaks my heart even more.

What kind of world do we live in?

[Nat]

the "alternative" prom organized to replace the prom cancelled at Itawamba High School was a decoy for the "outcasts" like Constance McMillen while the "cool straight kids" prom was held elsewhere

link (http://www.towleroad.com/2010/04/confirmed-constance-mcmillen-attended-queer-outcast-prom-while-the-cool-straight-kids-partied-elsewh-1.html)

[Soon]

CONSTANCE MCMILLEN TO MAKE FIRST PRIDE APPEARANCE
& SERVE AS GRAND MARSHAL OF THE 41st ANNUAL NYC LGBT PRIDE MARCH (http://nycpride.org/pdf/Constance_McMillen_NYC_Grand_Marshal_PressRelease. pdf)

NYC Pride March (http://nycpride.org/march.html)

[Soon]

Why We Need to Keep High School Prom for Heterosexuals

(http://www.queerty.com/why-we-need-to-keep-high-school-prom-for-heterosexuals-20100416/)

[Soon]

Bleckley prom goes smoothly (http://www.macon.com/2010/04/18/1097977/bleckley-prom-goes-smoothly.html)

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_t6rV3U9ZEHM/S8xgPIf9WhI/AAAAAAAAvzE/6nDxGrWojWE/s1600/DerrickPromNight.jpg

[lyric]

Why We Need to Keep High School Prom for Heterosexuals

(http://www.queerty.com/why-we-need-to-keep-high-school-prom-for-heterosexuals-20100416/)

Loved that! LOL
Thanks for sharing!

And this...

Bleckley prom goes smoothly (http://www.macon.com/2010/04/18/1097977/bleckley-prom-goes-smoothly.html)

... is fantastic!

[Soon]

The ACLU has filed amended their lawsuit against lesbian teen Constance McMillan's Mississippi school district to include charges of conspiring with parents to lure Constance to a "decoy prom" while most students attended a much larger event in another town. Via press release:

On March 23, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi issued a preliminary ruling in McMillen’s case that school officials violated McMillen’s First Amendment rights when it canceled the high school prom rather than let McMillen attend with her girlfriend and wear a tuxedo. The court stopped short of ordering Itawamba Agricultural High School (IAHS) to put the school prom back on the calendar relying on assurances that an alternative “private” prom being planned by parents would be open to all students, including McMillen. However, according to legal papers, at a meeting with school officials, parents then decided to cancel that private prom without notifying McMillen because they did not want to allow McMillen to attend, instead organizing a “decoy” prom for McMillen and her date and still another prom for the rest of the class. McMillen and her date then attended the event the school had told her was “the prom for juniors and seniors” on April 2, where they found only seven other students attending. Principal Trae Wiygul and several school staff members were supervising that event while most of McMillen’s classmates were at the other prom in Evergreen, Mississippi.

The amended complaint against the school district notes that Constance has been ostracized, humiliated, and subjected to text message taunts such as "I don’t know why you come to this school because no one likes your gay ass anyways."

[Soon]

Via JoeMyGod:

Westboro Baptist Church has announced on their website (NFSW) that they will be picketing the graduation ceremony of Constance McMillen's high school in Mississippi.

WBC will picket the graduation of Itawamba Agricultural High School to remind the parents, teachers and students of this nation that God said "Thou shall not lie with mankind, as with womankind, it is abomination." Leviticus 18:22.

This generation has been raised to believe that they can live for the devil and still go to heaven, that God has no standards and the biggest lie of all - that God loves everyone. The parents of Fulton, MS feign outrage that a filthy dyke wants to parade her "girlfriend" around at their night of fornication called a prom. They had a duty to teach their children what the Lord requires of them. They shirked this duty. The Lord repays them to their face by sending dykes, burning in their lusts, to tyrannize them. "For this cause God gave them up to vile affections: for even their women did change their natural use which is is against nature." Romans 1:26

While we've seen many moving examples of young people protesting the presence of Westboro, it will be very interesting to see how the people of Constance's hometown react to this. Encouragingly, a Facebook group against the picket has already appeared. (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=118581881492123&ref=ts)

[Soon]

Lesbian teen looks to life after controversy
(http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-06-20-gay-teen-prom_N.htm)

ACKSON, Miss. — Constance McMillen started the month graduating from a strange high school in tears. She will end it meeting President Obama, attending a benefit concert with pop legend Ronnie Spector and marching in a New York City parade.

It's been that kind of year for the openly gay 18-year-old who made national news when her Fulton, Miss., high school canceled its prom after she asked to bring her girlfriend.

McMillen will attend a White House reception Tuesday for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender citizens from around the nation in recognition of gay pride month.

[Soon]

SCORE: Constance McMillen's Old High School Pays Up $35k, Creates Non-Discrimination Policy


Itawamba County School District, which refused to let Constance McMillen attend her own high school prom, and then allegedly aided in creating a separate private prom that Constance wasn't invited to, is settling charges filed against it by Constance and the ACLU, according to a release.

Constance will receive $35k in damages and attorneys fees while Itawamba will institute a non-discrimination policy that includes sexuality orientation and gender identity — the first school, notes the ACLU, to do so in Mississippi.

Technically, this falls into the "win" column: Constance succeeded in having her school confess its sins and pay her for failing one of its students (though really, it failed all of its students). And while Constance did manage to graduate from another high school a tad more accepting, and did get to dance at a number of proms, and did get to serve as grand marshal in gay pride parades, and did become a beacon of hope for all queer teens, she was also a high school senior victimized by her own school, and that's never something to be happy about.


Read more: http://www.queerty.com/score-constance-mcmillens-old-high-school-pays-up-35k-creates-non-discrimination-policy-20100720/#ixzz0uEZO0LyT

[suebee]

While it's a shame Constance couldn't go to a typical prom as HERSELF, which is obviously what she wanted to do, the reverberations from her courage will surely have positive effects. And I'm sure it will mold her into an adult who is enriched, rather than impoverished by her experiences.

Constance is a force to be reckoned with. Shame on the so-called "educators" who schemed to take her last real highschool experience away from her. I think it backfired on them, don't you?

[Soon]

ABC Family Developing Film With Craig Zadan And Neil Meron About Lesbian Teen Who Was Banned From Prom
(http://www.deadline.com/2010/10/abc-family-developing-film-about-lesbian-teen-who-was-banned-from-prom-with-producers-craig-zadan-and-neil-meron/)
EXCLUSIVE: The topic of gay teen bullying has dominated the media lately with news reports of five teen boys taking their lives last month alone after being harassed because of their sexual orientation. One of the rare cases where the bullying led to a happy ending -- the story of rural Mississipi lesbian high school student Constance McMillen who successfully sued the local school district for discrimination -- will become a TV movie for ABC Family. The project, in early stages of development, hails from Craig Zadan and Neil Meron and Sony Pictures TV who have optioned the rights to McMillen’s story. Ghost Whisperer creator/executive producer John Gray will write the script and is expected to direct.

In March, McMillen challenged the Itawamba County School District when it barred her from attending her prom because she wanted to bring her girlfriend as her date and wear a tuxedo. The district responded by canceling the prom, prompting the ACLU to file a lawsuit claiming the teen's rights had been violated. The flap led to a backlash by many of McMillen’s friends, their parents and the school board who turned against her. Because of the constant harassment, she had to pull out of her Itawamba Agricultural High School and finished her senior year at a school in Jackson, Miss. But McMillen's case quickly drew nationwide attention and she ended up receiving a $30,000 scholarship from Ellen DeGeneres, serving as a grand marshal for New York's Gay Pride Parade and attending a reception at the White House hosted by President Barack Obama. She also recently won a $35,000 settlement in the lawsuit against her school district, with the district agreeing to follow a non-discrimination policy.

Openly-gay producers Zadan and Meron, currently shepherding the Footloose feature remake, have a track record of producing socially-conscious movies about gays. They won GLAAD Media Awards for Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story and for What Makes A Family. Both films were produced by Sony TV under EVP Helen Verno and co-produced with Barbra Streisand. Zadan, Meron and Sony took a lighter approach to the subject with Wedding Wars, the first film about gay marriage. Meanwhile, ABC Family was noted in GLAAD’s annual TV report last week for increasing the number of LGBT characters on its shows. Gray previously collaborated with Zadan, Meron and Sony on the telefilms Brian's Song and Martin & Lewis. His feature White Irish Drinkers recently premiered at the Toronto Film Festival.

As for the aftermath of the recent tragic gay teen suicides, Hollywood has been at the forefront of the fight against discrimination and abuse, with a number of gay celebrities taping videos in support of gay students.