Mississippi High school cancels prom after student wanted to bring same sex date.

[pssorens]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_lesbian_prom_date

It's one of those things that drives me nuts. Didn't the school boards of the deep south learn this lesson once already. discrimination based on sex orientation is still discrimination.

I've got more to say on this topic, but I'm still a little wound up over the topic. I'll post more latter.

[ThePhoneGoddess]

Mississippi School cancels prom because of Lesbian's request

http://http://www.usatoday.com/news/...0-noprom_N.htm

18 year old lesbian Constance wanted to wear a tux and bring her girlfriend to prom. Her high school, in the heart of the bible belt, has explicit rules against same sex dates to school events. The ACLU got involved and told the school board they could not legally make such a rule.

The school's response? It canceled prom for everyone!

And not only that, but it publicly encouraged the community to come together and put on their own prom for the students---presumably, one which could legally exclude lesbian couples.

Sheesh, let's just put a target on the girl's back, why don't you?

[smileyeagle1021]

What do you expect from the deep south... when it comes to bigotry (especially religiously based) they never learn down there.

[pssorens]

I'm also worried that from the reaction that the student got from her classmates, the school has created an atmosphere for a hate crime to occur.

[smileyeagle1021]

pssorens, sadly to say, it's so deep in the bible belt, the atmosphere for a hate crime was already there... the school just introduced a match to the fuel.

[McDreidel09]

The principal at my old high school tried to do this. He banned same sex pairings at Prom. When there was a backlash, he banned having couples rates at all. You could still bring someone that did not attend the school (after filling out all of the paper work).

The policy is bull crap. Nobody is really looking at who is there. The kids are just dancing.

[elsporko]

Seems like the problem could have been avoided had she agreed to not refer to her guest as a date. It wouldn't have been fair but everybody could have still had a prom. I think there are those who saw this as an opportunity to push an agenda and ran with it.

[Greenday]

Seems like the problem could have been avoided had she agreed to not refer to her guest as a date. It wouldn't have been fair but everybody could have still had a prom. I think there are those who saw this as an opportunity to push an agenda and ran with it.

Morally, at least these girls were in the right. Instead of not being douchebags, the school refused to admit that they ARE douchebags and punished the whole school as a result. It was bound to happen sometime and that time is now.

Religion, continuing to cause more problems in the world than anything else...

[telecom_goddess]

Seems like the problem could have been avoided had she agreed to not refer to her guest as a date. It wouldn't have been fair but everybody could have still had a prom. I think there are those who saw this as an opportunity to push an agenda and ran with it.

I agree that would have made lives a lot easier...but discrimination doesn't go away when people play it safe. If Rosa Parks hadn't stood her ground on the bus, where would black/african american people be today? People have to take a chance and make a stand for things to change in society.

I just hope that those girls don't pay for it in the end with their lives.

[Boozy]

FYI - I've merged several threads on the same subject.

Edited to add: Please use the report button if you find any duplicates. Leaving a note in the thread isn't helpful unless a mod happens to stumble across it. Thanks.

[Greenday]

My bad. I keep thinking the report button as a report inappropriate material button and forget that it has other functions.

[Fryk]

I love the bullshit reasoning the school used in its "decision". "Oh, it'll be an educational distraction." Really? So prom is educational now?

[smileyeagle1021]

Seems like the problem could have been avoided had she agreed to not refer to her guest as a date. It wouldn't have been fair but everybody could have still had a prom. I think there are those who saw this as an opportunity to push an agenda and ran with it.

And as someone else has mentioned, Rosa Parks could have avoided arrest had she simply given up her seat on the bus.
The only way to defeat Christian bigotry (be it against blacks or gays) is to stand up to them.

[elsporko]

The Catholic church opposed racism against blacks, but I understand you have trouble realizing that a huge group doesn't have one opinion. Its just like how all lesbians wear flannel and all gay men prance around while drinking cosmos.

[pssorens]

This school district is like a bad parody of a southern high school. It's been in trouble for school sponsored prayer. What's next, letting Fred Phelps become the sex- ed teacher?

@ Elsporko
I would be careful of using a Religious faction that burned anyone that disagreed with them at the stake for several centuries as a n example of tolerence.