Mother of Gay Student to School: Let My Son Attend Prom

by Michael Jones · 2010-04-09 10:50:00 UTC
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TuxThis is turning out to be one of the most drama-ridden prom seasons in the history of the world. First you had Constance McMillen in Fulton, Mississippi, who was banned from attending her school prom, then victorious in a court case that ruled her rights were violated, and then lied to and tricked by Itawamba High School students into attending a sham prom, while her classmates yukked it up at a private dance.

Then there was the case of Derrick Martin in Cochran, Georgia, who was allowed to attend his school's prom with his boyfriend, but then was subsequently thrown out of his parent's house for being gay.

Now comes the story of two gay students in North Carolina, Chase and Jordan. Chase goes to a high school that is getting ready to celebrate their prom. Earlier this week, he was told by school authorities that he couldn't bring his boyfriend Jordan to the prom. What happened next?

Finally, some justice. And it came in the form of Jordan's mother, Leesa Nixon, who made a strong case to school administrators that two gay students have every right to attend prom as two straight students. And the school listened. After all, hell hath no fury like a mother fighting for the equal rights of her child.

As Leesa Nixon writes, "For Gay, Lesbian, Bi and Transsexual teens, finding a date and something to wear to the prom is the easy part.  The hard part comes when school officials tell them that they cannot bring their same-sex date." (Transgender, Ms. Nixon!  Transgender!)

Perhaps truer words were never said, given the debate over proms and same-sex dates this year. Despite the fact that courts have routinely sided with LGBT students when it comes to having the right to bring same-sex dates to school shindigs, schools regularly fight LGBT students on this.

But kudos to Ms. Nixon for standing up for the right of her son Jordan and his boyfriend Chase. And kudos to Chase's high school, Starmount High School, for backing off of their original ban on same-sex dates. Sometimes school officials make really silly decisions. Starmount just proved that you can walk back from those stupid decisions, and ensure that all of your students are taken care of and feel safe and respected.

Now, anyone wanna take bets on how fast Leesa Nixon becomes one of the most popular moms in the country?

Photo credit: AMagill

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.

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