A prom is an event that most high school students look forward to, both for its excitement as well as its sense of passage. All that ended in a Mississippi school recently when a lesbian student asked to bring a girl to the dance, and to, god forbid, wear a tuxedo.
Constance McMillan’s request to take her girlfriend to the prom resulted the entire event being cancelled by the school district. They chose that option rather than risk problems when the ACLU got involved. It’s a small, conservative town of about 4,000 in Itawamba county in Mississippi, so conservative in fact that nearby, ten years ago, school officials were sued over student led, daily intercom prayer.
Constance has returned to school after the decision and faced some verbal retaliation from other students who are disappointed in the prom’s cancellation. Her parents support Constance, even pushing her to get right back to school and stand up for who she is. Chances of a privately sponsored prom don’t seem likely.
