Published: March 11, 2010
Op-Ed Contributor
Outrage! Prom Canceled So That Lesbian Couple Can't Attend!
By Robert Paul Reyes
"A Mississippi county school board announced Wednesday it would cancel its upcoming prom after a gay student petitioned to bring a same-sex date to the event.
'Due to the distractions to the educational process caused by recent events, the Itawamba County School District has decided to not host a prom at Itawamba Agricultural High School this year,' school board members said in a statement.
Constance McMillen, an 18-year-old senior at Itawamba, recently challenged a school policy prohibiting her from bringing her girlfriend as her date to the April 2 prom. McMillen, who is a lesbian, and the Mississippi chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union urged school officials to reverse the policy both on McMillen's choice of date and attire. She also wanted to wear a tuxedo to the dance." USAToday.Com
If a Mississippi county school board announced it would cancel its upcoming prom after a white student petitioned to bring his black girlfriend to the event, there would be cries of outrage from every city, town and village.
It's an indictment on our society that this blatant case of discrimination elicits almost no protests. We've made great strides as a society, and we no longer tolerate discrimination based on race, gender or religion. But it's still kosher to discriminate against gays and lesbians, we deprive our homosexual brothers and sisters of the most basic rights, including the right to marry, adopt children, and serve in the military openly and with pride.
We think it's no big deal when a lesbian couple isn't allowed to attend their high school prom. Our schools should be teaching our children the principles of tolerance and respect for diversity. The Mississippi high school is teaching our impressionable children that it's OK to discriminate against gay and lesbians.
Thank goodness for the ACLU, they are always there to protect the rights of minorities. Let's join the ACLU in protesting this ugly incident of homophobia, blog this story, send a letter to the editor of your local paper, do something to protest this injustice!
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Robert Paul Reyes is a NewsBlaze writer on Politics, Pop Culture and Pointless Pontificating. Contact him by writing to NewsBlaze.
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