Same Sex Prom Dates: School Cancels Prom Because ... - Gather.com

It's hard enough being a teenager.  It's even harder to be true to yourself as a teenager. Good for Constance McMillan to step up for herself. The teenager is a lesbian, who wants to go to her prom.

Her message is "Be true to yourself."  Senior Constance McMillen, 18, was ready for the prom. She even had a date. But the problem at Itawamba County Agricultural High School, says Strassmann, was her sophomore -- girlfriend.

McMillen told CBS News, "I just want to go to the prom and bring my date, just like everyone else gets to."

The prom is cancelled and McMilliam said she's been told by classmates that she's ruined their senior year.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is seeking a court order to force a Mississippi high school to hold its senior prom. On Wednesday, school officials cancelled the event after McMillan asked to bring her girlfriend and wear a tuxedo.

CBS News reports that, in Fulton, Miss., charges of discrimination and violation of a teenager's rights have derailed the prom plans. But in Fulton the idea of a lesbian prom couple was a problem. The school board said it violated their policy against same-sex couples at the dance.

So McMillen couldn't bring her girlfriend or wear a tuxedo. Lawyers on all sides got involved. The school board cancelled the dance, saying in a statement the decision was "due to the distractions to the educational process caused by recent events."

McMillen said on "The Early Show" that, when she spoke with her school's principal in December about her intentions to bring her girlfriend to the prom, he told her it wasn't allowed. When she asked why, he gave her some story that it was about the tickets for the event.

But McMillen said, "I explained to him that you can't pretend like there's not gay people at our school, and if you tell people they can't bring same-sex date, that is discrimination to them."

McMillen said the feeling at school is "hostile" and "silent" since it was announced the prom has been cancelled.

Students are mad.

McMillen said, "But you'll have people that are going to be like that," she said. "It hurts, but there's nothing I can do about it, but just hope they understand that was never my intention. Now I'm fighting for prom for everybody now."

On a national level, McMillen said, "I just want other kids to know that it's not right for schools to do that and I want them to be able to know that they can get a hold of the ACLU … and they help people through stuff like this. Because schools, they shouldn't be able to do that."

McMillen added that kids need to be true to themselves.

"That's how I was raised," she said. "I don't know how everybody was raised, but that's how I was raised, to always be yourself and be proud of who you are. And it's like they're asking you, like for prom, you can be gay, just don't be openly gay, just hide it for a little while."

Is this fair to Constance McMillen? 

Source:  CBS Early Show

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