Ed Brayton is a journalist, commentator and speaker. He is the co-founder and president of 
A school in Mississippi is canceling its senior prom because two lesbian students in the school wanted to go to it. And that would be all icky and stuff.
A northern Mississippi school district will not be hosting a high school prom this spring after a lesbian student sought to attend with her girlfriend and wear a tuxedo.The Itawamba County school district's board decided Wednesday to drop the prom because of what it called recent distractions but without specifically mentioning the girl's request, which was backed by the American Civil Liberties Union.
One of the girls is calling this retaliation. At the very least, I'd be willing to bet it will lead to retaliation from other kids:
The student, 18-year-old high school senior Constance McMillen, said the cancellation was retaliation for her efforts to bring her girlfriend, also a student, to the April 2 dance."A bunch of kids at school are really going to hate me for this, so in a way it's really retaliation," McMillen told The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson. Calls to McMillen by The Associated Press late Wednesday went unanswered.
I hope, at the very least, that the local police are keeping a close eye on the homes of those two girls.
Meanwhile, the school board shows its cowardice:
School policy requires that senior prom dates be of the opposite sex. The ACLU of Mississippi had given the district until Wednesday to change that policy, arguing that banning same-sex prom dates violated McMillen's constitutional rights.Instead, the school board met and issued a statement announcing it wouldn't host the event at Itawamba County Agricultural High School in Fulton, "due to the distractions to the educational process caused by recent events."
The school should view this not as a distraction from the educational process but as an opportunity for education. It's a perfect teaching moment, an opportunity to stress the importance of equality and diversity. But that would require an enlightened and brave school administration.
Politics
Comments
Another school is killing a fly with a SCUD missile, I see. I especially love the way that the administration is putting this all on these two girls.
This reminds me of an article by some halfwit I read a few weeks ago. Basically, he argued that we could eliminate all the problems associated with gay rights if we just made homosexuality illegal. Ah, homophobes.
Posted by: D Johnston | March 12, 2010 12:10 PM
Actually, I doubt there'll be much hate for the girls that "caused" this. This is a pretty old play from the right-wing playbook in Mississippi.
I don't know about other states, but if you look at a list of founding dates for private schools here, the mass majority of them were built in the 1960s. When segregation was taken out of schools. The counties said, "Oh no, we can't fund these schools!" and cut their funding/shut them down, then the white upper crust said, "Well, we can't have that! We'll pool our money together and build a nice private school!"
You'll notice the exact language from the school board is,
This can be read as;
But seriously, fuck Itawamba county. If it'd been someone wanting to bring their favorite pig to prom, they wouldn't have batted an eye.
Posted by: LtStorm | March 12, 2010 12:13 PM
In the early '90s I asked our brand new high school principal if I could bring a male date to prom (I'm not gay, but I am a shit disturber).
His response was to point out that our student conduct handbook had a number of rules governing who could or could not attend school functions, but that gender was not mentioned.
I can't say I ever really liked the guy, but that one exchange made me hate him a little less.
Posted by: Captain Mike | March 12, 2010 12:25 PM
LtStorm,
the school actually said that directly, that is, that they hope "private individuals" come together to create an alternate prom. It's not stated explicitly, but they're obviously expecting that the "private individuals" will set their own rules (conincidentally identical to what the school wanted) without any of those pesky legal constraints.
With any luck it won't work out that way. This from the article Ed cites:
Posted by: Brain Hertz | March 12, 2010 12:33 PM
Brain Hertz,
Ah, so it did, I just missed that line. Well, just confirms what I said is exactly what's going on!
Posted by: LtStorm | March 12, 2010 12:43 PM
Oh, I'm sure they...despite Lawrence v. Texas.
Posted by: James Hanley | March 12, 2010 1:26 PM
Mississippi does something backwards and regressive. Full story at 11.
Posted by: Brandon | March 12, 2010 1:40 PM
Posted by: highnumber | March 12, 2010 1:50 PM
This is an outrage! For too long the liberal commu-socia-marxist-homo agenda has been chipping away at our most sacred, holy and god given institutions! Prom! Ladies and Gentlemen, we cannot allow the institution of prom to be changed! GPA's will drop, college enrollment will fall. Girls will take shop class! Boys will learn cooking! Chaos! It's home-coming, not homo-coming! All the evidence points out that a man and a women make better prom dates because that's how god made the very first prom (Eden, HELLO).
If we allow the definition of our sacred institution to be changed all high school dances will be ruined forever.
We cannot allow this demon of tolerance to rape the virgin homophobia we've planted in our children's young minds.
Posted by: debaser | March 12, 2010 2:02 PM
my sister didn't go to prom. when she was talking to one of her friends about not going, one girl overheard her and replied in a surprised/upset/baffled voice "but the prom is the most important day of your life!"
Posted by: rob | March 12, 2010 2:25 PM
As to parents coming together to fund a private prom, maybe they can ask their neighbors that fund the segregated proms for advice:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/magazine/24prom-t.html
Posted by: JMP | March 12, 2010 3:26 PM
It may not be the most important day of your life but it is an important milestone. It marks the first night of many in your adult life of spending way to much to get laid.
Posted by: mgordon | March 12, 2010 3:26 PM
Breaking news-
In a press conference today, Itawamba County Sheriff Bubba Hicks announced special security measures for the two teenage girls at the center of the recent prom controversy:
"Out of concern for the sapphic.. um, safety of these two young ladies, we will be conducting survoyeur - I mean surveillance on their homes. I myself will be leading the fap force... er, task force."
When asked if he had any personal opinions on the case, Sheriff Hicks offered:
"Well these girls have stirred up a lot of trouble in the local cumm... um, community. Now, I don't approve of that and if I had my way with th- uh, if I had my way I'd give them both a long stern lecher - er, lecture."
Sheriff Hicks then insisted on remaining behind the podium until all the reporters had left.
Posted by: DaveL | March 12, 2010 4:08 PM
DaveL: That is entirely unrealistic.
No one named 'Bubba Hicks' knows what the word 'sappic' means.
Posted by: LtStorm | March 12, 2010 4:26 PM
I wonder when this same basic circumstance first occurred in the south involving a bi-racial prom couple, and how the local community in question handled it?
And by "handled it," I mean threatening to lynch both parties by the light of the full moon.
Posted by: CHV | March 12, 2010 5:02 PM
CHV: "Threatened"? I suppose only half the prom couple being lynched could count as a "threat" to the white part.
Posted by: LtStorm | March 12, 2010 5:05 PM
I'm sure that they are. They should find something to bust them on.
Posted by: D. C. Sessions | March 12, 2010 6:06 PM
Well, in the early 90's I went with my best friend to her prom in po-dunk Texas (I'm female, btw). We didn't think to ask permission, but like Captain Mike above, we weren't lesbians, just shaking the boat. It was not an issue at all- maybe some snickers behind our backs. Heck, we even danced together. I think their mistake was asking for permission, but yes, it is an outrageous story, but I'm not particularly suprised.
Posted by: aithne | March 12, 2010 6:31 PM
Where are the parents complaining to the board???
Oh! Forgot where this is. They are probably bigger bigots then the board.
Posted by: CybrgnX | March 12, 2010 8:44 PM
65-ish year old secretary where i work (here in the deep south) went to Bob Jones University. The other day I heard her asking my boss, in sneering tones, "Hey, you hear about that queer girl who got the prom ruined for everyone?"
Posted by: tyrese | March 12, 2010 10:15 PM
This would make a good script for a sequel to that great documentary about rural high school life, Footloose.
Posted by: wheatdogg | March 12, 2010 11:31 PM
I was stationed at Craig AFB and lived in nearby Selma, AL for a year starting in March, 1965. As Summer approached controversy grew concerning the impact of the civil rights legislation which prohibited racial discrimination in public accommodations and how this would effect the town's three public swimming pools. What if some black families showed up expecting to be let in as a result of this new law? So the city council voted not to open these pools for the Summer.
The cost of providing these facilities, the Summer jobs that would result, the recreation that families and their children would enjoy as a respite to the oppressive Summer heat would all be sacrificed to ensure that a few blacks would not end up in the same water as them.
Now we see this Mississippi high school is doing the same thing. They would deny all their students a cherished high school experience just to prevent one couple from being there with the person they love.
It's Selma, AL in 1965 all over again. When will they learn that discrimination against those who are different harms all not just the few.
Posted by: Bill Ware | March 13, 2010 10:00 AM
Why on earth would they ask for permission? I have been out of high school almost fifty years, so I don't remember, but I thought if you had an invitation or in the right class you could come.
Posted by: Hathor | March 13, 2010 10:03 AM
Bill Ware #22 - It does indeed...
Posted by: Brian W | March 13, 2010 11:48 AM
Hathor - From what I've read elsewhere, each couple had to fill out a form with their details ahead of time to get tickets (seriously). Among the rules explicitly stated on the form was "no same-sex couples." If I recall correctly, this issue had come up at the prom in a previous year and a same-sex couple had been banned.
Sure, they could lie on the form, but there's no reason to assume that if they then just showed up together, they would be allowed to go on about their prom unmolested. And I'm sure plenty of people would have then been happy to use "they lied on their form!!11!" as an extra excuse to dismiss their concerns.
Or perhaps Ms. McMillen, being clearly a mature and idealistic person, wanted to confront the issues head on rather than sneaking around.
Posted by: MPW | March 13, 2010 1:04 PM
Besides the usual appalling homophobic vomit, many of the commenters I've seen on articles also display a depressing ignorance about constitutional principles and students' rights. According to these proud Americans, schoolkids should not and do not have any rights of free expression, association, etc., inside the school doors. A dismayingly large portion of the populace seems to think that the proper job #1 of schools is to instill obedience to authority in children.
One future Supreme Court justice took this way over into Bizarro territory with a rant about how students can't be subjected to any other students' opposing views in school, and how the school would have gotten sued by straight students if they'd allowed Constance and her girlfriend to attend, because that would have been imposing the couple's pro-gay rights views on the other attendees. It was a confused thesis, to say the least, but I think he might also have thought that this would constitute a pro-gay rights statement on the part of the school.
Posted by: MPW | March 13, 2010 1:36 PM
MPW @ 26:
This isn't perfectly applicable but in Morse v. Frederick, the 'Bong Hits for Jesus case', Justice Clarence Thomas writes in a concurring assent:
This a price of conservatism wielding power in America.
Posted by: Michael Heath | March 13, 2010 1:59 PM
PERHAPS CONTANTCRAVING LICKMUFFIN CAN APPLY FOR AN INTERNSHIP AT THE STATE DEPARTMENT!!!!
http://americaphile.blogspot.com/2009/01/dark-cloud-over-foggy-bottom.html
BWAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
Posted by: AMERICAPHILE MINISTRIES | March 13, 2010 3:15 PM
Yes Americaphile, very funny. Just one question, why do you call Hillary Clinton PIAPS? Does it stand for something or did you just pick a collection of letters at random.
Posted by: Matty | March 13, 2010 4:38 PM
Matty: it stands for something. PIAPS stands for "the person who says PIAPS is a massive, massive douche". Later, the person who says it freaks out when Obama (after McCain) says "lipstick on a pig". Only one (spun properly) attacks Americaphile Ministries'* in-group, you see.
*I keep some smart ray of hope that Americaphile Ministries is a Poe, but he's just so...committed.
Posted by: Modusoperandi | March 13, 2010 6:32 PM
Wups. That should be "small" instead of "smart". On a side note, this might explain why people reacted so oddly when I falled in the elevator.
Posted by: Modusoperandi | March 14, 2010 1:44 AM
Update: Acording to this artice the American Humanist Association has offered to put on an all-inclusive prom for the high school.
Posted by: Pieter B | March 14, 2010 4:35 AM
Just ignore AMERICAPHILE MINISTRIES. Ralphie's simply a unitard. - Dingo
Posted by: DingoJack | March 14, 2010 6:34 AM
Me, mah wahfe, mah sis'r, an maaahhh cuz'n uh-gree: we doan wahn no dahkes at our boy's prawm, no sir! Thas whah we's both suh-port-in th' school's decision!
Posted by: Brian Lesse Hicks | March 14, 2010 7:36 PM
If anyone else thinks like commenter #2, that these high school students will not get a lot of hostility from their community, all you need to do is google a few of the mainstream outlets that are covering this story (especially ones based in Mississippi) and check out the comments.
It probably shouldn't be surprising to me, but the victim blaming is vile and much more prominent than the tolerance.
Posted by: MomTFH | March 18, 2010 10:58 AM