Saturday 20 March 2010

Prom is For Everyone

Prom Is For Everyone

One of the cognitive errors people often make is to assume that others are in agreement with them in terms of their morals and beliefs.  I am guilty of that because when I read this story, I simply couldn’t believe that backwards people like this still existed in schools and campuses in the USA.

I’m sure many of you know about this story already, especially if you live in the US but I didn’t until I saw this banner on the blog Earth to Holly.  So without further ado, here is the story…

Link: ACLU Sues Mississippi School That Canceled Prom Rather Than Let Lesbian Couple Attend [ACLU]

Link: Fulton, MS Prom Discrimination [ACLU]

Itawamba Agricultural High School in Fulton, Mississippi told a student that she could not enter the school prom with her girlfriend and that she could not wear a tuxedo.  She was also told that if she arrived separately but slow-danced with her girlfriend, they might be thrown out.

Constance McMillen The student, Constance McMillen, reported the matter to the ACLU and they issued a letter demanding that she be allowed to attend the prom with her girlfriend.  The school board responded by saying that the prom was cancelled for all students and the ACLU then filed a suit against them.  In the complaint, Constance McMillen v. Itawamba County School District, et al.,  the ACLU asked the school board to reinstate prom for all students and charged Itawamba County School District officials with violating Constance McMillen’s First Amendment right to freedom of expression.  The hearing on the motion for a preliminary injunction will be held on this coming Monday 22 March.

You can support Constance on Facebook: Let Constance Take Her Girlfriend to Prom!

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4 comments

earthtoholly said...

Thanks so much for spreading the word, Emm. And you did a much better job of doing so than I, since I only posted the badge! But, luckily you saw it and ran with it...kudos to you!

And thank you so much for the link back...it is much appreciated! :o)

Joanne Olivieri said...

Yes, this story has been all over the news and it's tragic that in this day and age our freedoms are taken away due to the beliefs and expectations of others. We are supposed to be living in the "land of the free" what a joke that is.

generaldecay said...

The shocking this is that I wasn't in the least shocked about this. Typical, middle-America attitudes to homosexuality and diversity revealed again.

Mandy said...

@ Holly: And thank you for bringing my attention to it!

@ Joanne: I just wander about the school and whetehr they honestly thought they'd get away with something like that. I guess schools dtill think they can bully kids.

@ General Decay: I can certainly imagine it happening in small towns around South Africa too. I guess any society with strong conservative pockets really...

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