Lesbian Student, ACLU Steps on School's Toes Over Dance Issue

by Tom Henderson (Subscribe to Tom Henderson's posts) Mar 10th 2010 3:00PM

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All Constance McMillen wants is a night to remember. Photo courtesy of Constance McMillen.

Constance McMillen, like a lot of 18-year-old high school girls, is excited about going to the prom.

There's only one problem. She wants to take her girlfriend. And Itawamba Agricultural High School in Fulton, Miss., (a town of about 3,900 residents in the northeast corner of the state), has a policy against same-sex prom dates.

Enter the American Civil Liberties Union.

Leaders of the ACLU's Mississippi chapter and the Mississippi Safe Schools Coalition demanded March 9 that Itawamba County School District officials let McMillen take her girlfriend to the dance.

In an ACLU press release, McMillen says she approached school officials shortly before a memo about prom was circulated at school Feb. 5, stating that same-sex dates would not be allowed.

McMillen reports meeting with the assistant principal and, later, the superintendent, who told her she and her girlfriend [a fellow student at Itawamba] would not be allowed to arrive together and that she would not be allowed to wear a tux.

No matter how they arrive to the dance, McMillen adds, she was told the pair would be thrown out if their presence made any other students "uncomfortable."

"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," says Kristy Bennett, legal director of the ACLU of Mississippi, in the release.

"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," she adds.

A letter from the ACLU to Itawamba County School District officials cites federal court cases guaranteeing students' First Amendment right to bring same-sex dates to school dances.

The letter also argues that treating gay and lesbian students differently from other students violates the Constitution's equal protection guarantees.

Aside from barring McMillen and her girlfriend from the prom, ACLU officials argue their school also violated McMillen's free expression rights by telling her that she can't wear a tux.

"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," says Christine P. Sun, senior counsel with the ACLU national Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Project, in the press release.

"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," she adds.

The ACLU and the Mississippi Safe Schools Coalition have given the school district a deadline this week to respond to the letter.

Related: Lesbian Teen Banned From Yearbook

Comments (26)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Elizabeth 3-10-2010 @ 3:16PM

Why is it every year we hear about these students when Frick v. Lynch clearly states that schools must allow students to bring same sex dates to the prom?

Anne 3-11-2010 @ 6:18PM

it's about time someone took a stand against this abomination. I hope they do retaliate. If school officials had just "not-allowed" her to bring a same-sex partner that stupid ACLU would have sued; not they can't sue; there is no prom! EXCELLENT!

j.laudermilk 3-10-2010 @ 9:04PM

*There is nothing in the Constitution that states Gays' wishes take prominence over others' wishes. *

True, but neither is there anything stating "other's" wishes take precedence over homosexuals wishes.

Heather 3-10-2010 @ 9:14PM

It's simple. The School should call the dance off. I understand that Proms are tradition, how ever it is not required for a student to attend a Prom to graduate High School nor should it be. There for the school should stop spending tax dollars to promote these dances when virtually all school districts complain about a lack of funds as it is. Additionally the school districts will not have to worry about possible legal reprocutions. The less activities the school has the less likely they are to legal issues. Additionally School uniforms should be required at the cost of the students or their parents. Then the school district can require that students wear the school uniform not only during regular school hours, but at all school related functions as well. This will ensure that the old freedom of expression arguement can not be used against them by the ACLU. Pretty much if they screw over the majority of students the minority will be satisfied. All are not happy, but the school reduces possible legal action which ultimately cost the hard working citizens in the community.

Heidi 3-13-2010 @ 11:34PM

The school doesn't pay for the prom the students do. And if the school sponsors an event (whether or not the school pays for it) then ALL students should have the option of attending regardless of who a student chooses to bring, unless the school has a specific policy. In my town the middle school dances are only open to students who attend THAT SCHOOL. The high school does not specify that dates must attend that school. This school is discriminating against this girl based on who she wants to bring.

J 3-14-2010 @ 3:36PM

Heather, can you read? Are you reading? Are you listening? The "minority" IS NOT satisfied. The student had no intention of ruining prom, the student only wanted to bring her date. Give her a break.

Why are you blaming her, stating that her and her minority are "satisfied" with this, as if she wanted this?
If she wanted to ruin prom for everyone, why would she go about it this way? How could she have foreseen the actions of the school and the ACLU?
Tell me how a teenager would have known ahead of time that the school would "wimp out" of legal action due to legal action taken up by the ACLU and cancel prom -- when people of that age often forget that if they don't pack their bags the night before, they might forget a book? PARENTS: SPEAK UP, WHAT TEEN HAS SUCH DIVINE FORESIGHT? I know of none.

I bet you, if she knew this would have resulted, she would have stayed home on prom night and let her friends go instead. But she didn't, and while she and her classmates are not, I AM GLAD prom was canceled to draw attention to the atrocious policies of the school.

Years ago, we all would not have been allowed to bring a date outside of our ETHNICITY, RELIGION, and our ECONOMIC CLASS. How many of you are women dating younger men? or Men dating older women? You too, would be disallowed from prom because you are not the "norm". And how would we have felt? Times are changing, and they always have been, and they always will be. All of you need to open your eyes.

The school would have taken the lawsuit to court if they knew they could win, but they could not. Why? BECAUSE THEY KNEW THEY WERE WRONG. Can we stop having pity for them? They discriminated. 50 years ago there were legal battles about letting in students of a different color, and they were wrong then too!

How many of us went to prom? Speak up, and tell us what you thought. You wore the dress YOU wanted to, it was YOUR night, right? You went with the friends YOU wanted to, it was YOUR night, right? You went to the party YOU wanted to, wore what YOU wanted to, did what YOU wanted to... brought the date YOU wanted to?... and if you didn't, you had a terrible experience and you hated that day, or so you told many. But the entire point of the night (and I'm not saying this is good but this is how I understand prom) is to have YOUR night and celebrate YOUR youth, before you make that graduation walk...

Leave the girl alone. She just wanted to have HER night, HER date, HER outfit, HER prom, just as EVERY OTHER student did.
She did not mean to ruin prom for everyone. The school did, because they'd rather cancel prom for BS reasons than admit that they are discriminating against a student that wants to be who she is openly on her night to remember.

Sedna 3-10-2010 @ 9:51PM

Additionally School uniforms should be required at the cost of the students or their parents.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yeah, because families aren't hurting enough as it is. Lets require them to go buy more clothes for each kid they have in school! They totally have the extra money for it

jdhkva5106 3-11-2010 @ 3:51PM

let me just say this to the homosexuals...if your mother or father, or even grandmother or grandfather had been gay, would u be here ? and to those who complain about gay rights...if the country had been founded by homosexuals, how would any of us be here now to dispute the matter of homosexual rights. in my opinion we, as a species, would have eventually died out, if that were the case.

Girlslashwoman 3-14-2010 @ 11:51AM

I would gladly give up my personal existence for my homosexual parents or grandparents as I know they would for me. But I suppose the notion of sacrifice isn't familiar to a scholar like you.
Let's have it your way... I suppose let's start rounding up the heterosexual infertile men and woman and put them in front of a firing squad as well. What use are they anyway? They can't contribute to mankind either.

Sifrina 3-14-2010 @ 7:22PM

jdhkva5106 - You wrote:

" ...let me just say this to the homosexuals...if your mother or father, or even grandmother or grandfather had been gay, would u be here ? and to those who complain about gay rights...if the country had been founded by homosexuals, how would any of us be here now to dispute the matter of homosexual rights. in my opinion we, as a species, would have eventually died out, if that were the case"

Following your twisted logic, if a couple has no children then human races dies off? Hardly. What about priests and nuns? Has the human race died off because of their vows? Not at all. Homosexuals (a percentage of the population) don't prohibit heterosexuality or the continuation of the race. It's not a contagious disease and they don't dictate how the rest of us should live and neither should you or anyone else.

If my parents didn't have kids and I weren't born, I wouldn't be here to know.

Tara 4-13-2010 @ 1:43PM

Maybe you should read your history a bit more carefully. There were in fact many men who had a 'boy on the side' in the days our country was founded and the years following. One shouldn't make factual comments unless they know the facts - stick to opinions. lmao

Ben 3-11-2010 @ 4:59PM

The ACLU and the The Homosexual Mafia, what a great team. Homosexual exibitionists, children in school don't even know their sexuality but have been swayed by Homosexual freedom and seeing how cool it is to be a HOMO, in the MEDIA. You people make me ill, Homo Coolness Now, Homo Reality later.

Girlslashwoman 3-14-2010 @ 11:53AM

Funny how 50 years ago, another parent like you probably used your words except instead of homosexual, he used a rather insulting term for an African American.
It's good to see some consistency in closed minds throughout the ages. It makes life interesting.

Sifrina 3-11-2010 @ 9:30PM

Ben, jdhkva5106, Glorious and other anti gay posters here - Whether you like it or not, at some point the Court and EEOC will rule in favor of homosexual rights (as enjoyed in dozens of countries abroad) and ensure their status as a protected class. My employer and many others already have policies in place protecting homosexuals' rights and DC now permits homosexuals to have legally recognized marriages. Even First Lady Laura Bush, when questioned on this issue while giving a speech in Baltimore, admitted that she sees this as an eventual reality in this country. So, if this bothers you, I'm afraid you'll have to find a cave somewhere to hide out in as the rest of us are going forward to see this one to the end because the last time I checked this is a free country.

I realize your hateful, backwards' hillbilly thinking will continue, despite what the law says, and I don't care what your pastor tells you - bashing gays is not what Jesus would want. This is not a fashion statement or a fad (science will bear that out) and certainly no one chooses to face this steady stream of vicious, judgmental comments from narrow-minded fanatics who think their way is the ONLY way. Get a life and let people live theirs.

Wonderer 3-12-2010 @ 10:21AM

Sifrina, it isn't necessary to intiate hate and prejudice with that sort of language calling normal educated peoople hillbillies. I"m not anti-gay, my mom was gay and happy a lot. You'll find most people the haters call homophobes are actually full of love and would help any of the confused ones if they'd just stop hating. I had a confused puppy once ... he really liked the table leg, but it wouldn't have been the best mate for him.

As far as rights go, Oliver Wendall Holmes once said "Your right to swing your fist ENDS where my nose begins."

I didn't see anything in the Bill of Rights about schools being required to hold Proms, nor mandating that they allow any type of sexual deviates, such as cross dressing pedophiles to attend.

nelly 3-11-2010 @ 10:31PM

I just read the ACLU article on requesting reverse decision. Allowing same sex dates.McMillen's First Ammendment Rights Freedom of EXPRESSION has been violated...Good for you Mighty Mac...

Sifrina 3-12-2010 @ 10:52AM

Wonderer - your quote proves my point - it is not your or anyone's right to tell someone how to live their lives. My religion doesn't prohibit homosexuality so how I (and my friends) live and marry and date is none of your business - Yes, Your rights END where our personal lives begin! Thank you for proving my point!

Racists Americans used to prohibit mixed race marriages until the Supreme Court stopped that in Loving v. Virginia. I'm sure opponents to mixed race marriages thought those couples were "confused" too (thankfully the Court disagreed). Humans (including those by age 17) are not puppies despite what you want to think.

It's as simple as this:

People should make their own choices about who they date and marry and this isn't your business or anyone else's, despite what your beliefs are. Anti-homosexuality beliefs aren't our beliefs so you have no absolutely right to impose them on us.

Why are you talking about deviants? I'm not and I don't consider taking a same sex date to the prom deviant behavior in the least. Schools don't have to have a prom, true, but if they do it is up to each individual to decide who they want to bring and I don't understand why a tuxedo for a woman is such a bad thing (I have a tuxedo jacket that I wear to events and I'm a heterosexual woman). I see far more inappropriate outfits being worn by heterosexual teenagers out there. And who cares if a teenage boy wants to wear a dress. If' it's within the dress code (not revealing) so what?? No one is forcing you to dress this way so don't force them to dress as you wish.

By the way, the above posters are all full of hate towards gays and the ACLU and yet you don't take their language to task!

adiuo 3-12-2010 @ 5:54PM

Why is it, if you disagree with the "Gay Community", you are labled a hateful, narrow minded bigot? I live in California and anyone here who supports Prop 8, is a "Nazi". Back to the issue at hand. Miss MacMillian, with her smug little smile, with the help of the ACLU plans to champion HER rights, and HER rights alone. The rest of the graduating class has no "right" to a prom if she can't have it her way. After all, this young woman and her sexuality is much more important, than any other kid in this school. If the prom is cancelled, this can and probably will cost the local business community some money. No one will rent a tux, buy a formal, pay for flowers or an updo. No limos will be rented and no groups of young adults will dine at the resturant with the cloth napkins. This is a small town and in this economy this lack of spending could really hurt. Oh well, as long as Miss MacMillian and the ACLU are making their point, that's all that matters. And regarding Prop 8, the citizens of CA have voted not once, but twice, not to legalize gay marriage in our state. I await your name calling and insults.

Heidi 3-13-2010 @ 11:40PM

Um, if you actually read the article, the SCHOOL cancelled the prom in retaliation for this girl choosing to wear pants and bring a female date. SHE did not cause the prom to be cancelled the SCHOOL BOARD did. They are the ones causing grief, not her. And in reading all of the posts against allowing this girl to go to the prom, I had one thought. If you substitute the word "black" for the word "gay" it would be an outrage. Why not for this type of bigotry?? Normally I am against EVERYTHING the ACLU stands up for. Not this time. This is just plain wrong. Be as homophobic (or any other type of phobic or ...ist) as you like, but this is discrimination plain and simple and it is WRONG.

Girlslashwoman 3-14-2010 @ 11:46AM

Keep awaiting the name-calling and insults. You'll be waiting with bated breath in the same nervousness with which you're awaiting the future. You are convinced that you know what us best and that the world is going to hell. Trust me lady, time is not going to move back for you. Boys will not be hiding their dresses, girls will not go back to pretending to like movie actors, tears will not start flowing again. We have reached enlightenment and we are not going back to the days when we had to sacrifice the happiness of one girl so a group of many could enjoy whatever superficial comforts that prom could lend them. Those days are over. I advise you to get used to it.

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