Take Your Gay Prom Date to Georgia

by Michael Jones · 2010-03-23 07:06:00 UTC
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TuxWhat's the difference between a high school in Fulton, Mississippi and a high school in Cochran, Georgia? Well, if you're a student in Fulton, and you happen to be gay, don't even think about taking your same-sex date to the prom with you. But if you're an LGBT student in Cochran, go ahead and reserve the limo.

An 18-year-old student at Bleckley County High School in Georgia happened to do the same thing that Constance McMillen did when it came to the high school prom. They both asked their school if they could bring a same-sex date.

In the case of McMillen, we're all pretty darn familiar with what happened. The school district said no, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) threatened to sue, the school decided to punish everyone and cancel the prom instead of allow gay students, Constance McMillen becomes a national hero and gets a $30,000 scholarship for college and the opportunity to have an all-start New York City internship this summer.

But she still doesn't get to take her date to the prom.

In Georgia, however, the situation plays out a little different. Meet Derrick Martin, 18, who went to his school leadership and asked permission to bring another guy to prom (according to school policy, he had to ask -- not because it was a date of the same-gender, but because the guy Martin wants to bring to prom is from another county). Martin's Principal said that the school didn't have a policy banning same-sex dates. Then the school district's Superintendent said almost essentially the same thing. Then both the Principal and the Superintendent said that the prom will go on.

Ah, isn't it nice to see things work out like they should? Mississippi could take a few lessons from the Peach State.

Actually, what makes the Georgia case all that sweeter is that originally the Principal was going to say no. But she had a change of heart.

“You don’t have the right to say no,” principal Michelle Masters told the Macon Telegraph. “As a principal, I don’t judge him. I’m taught not to judge. I have to push my own beliefs to the background.”

Quick, somebody get this woman to run for public office. Well, OK, let's not go that far, but it is seriously welcome news to see someone who might hold socially conservative values when it comes to LGBT issues not get in the way of her students having a good time during their junior and senior years.

Meanwhile, Constance McMillen continues to fight for the right to take her same-sex date to her prom in Mississippi. Yesterday, a court case started, filed by the ACLU, taking the Itawamba Agricultural High School to task for banning McMillen and canceling the prom for all students. As McMillen said during her testimony, she never wanted to create a national news story. She just wanted to bring a date who she really likes.

"I feel like I had the right to go to the prom just like someone straight," McMillen said during her testimony.

The judge is expected to rule imminently on the Mississippi case, though ACLU attorneys were skeptical that there was enough time left in the school year to force the school district to hold a prom that welcomed same-sex dates. Still, important precedent could be set if the Mississippi judge rules that the Itawamba School District acted unconstitutionally.

Photo credit: Aaron

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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