Christian and Caleb, prom king and queen (screen shot, WNTW)

This year’s prom season has seen a huge uptick in positive proms for LGBT teens. Blacksburg, Virginia openly gay senior Jake Boyer was crowned prom queen. Boyer–senior class secretary, a choir member, and editor of his school’s literary magazine who came out last year and dressed as Lady GaGa for his big night–was encouraged by his prom reign:

More than anything, this experience just gave me hope for the future. Like, oh my gosh, this little town in the middle of Virginia is able to be this open

At McFatter Tech High School in Davies, Florida, Andii Viveros was elected prom queen. Andii submitted an essay to the school board on the difficulties of life as a transgender teen, and while she experienced a backlash from some students, she was crowned May 27. Her prom king was Juan Macias, an openly gay male student.

And in Sanford Maine–Maine is one of two New England states to deny marriage equality–openly gay 17 year-old Christian Nelsen was crowned Sanford High School’s Prom Queen and his equally out boyfriend Caleb Jett was elected prom king with the help of friends using write-in votes. Both wore tuxedos with their crowns and shared the King and Queen Dance. Talk About Equality reported:

This interview from WNTW News 8 mentions that while some were very happy for the results of the election, others were very unhappy. News 8 tried to interview dozens of people and those who were against it declined to comment on camera – one even said he was afraid of offending someone. How wonderful is it when those who are on the wrong side of history and humanity can acknowledge their ignorance and bigotry through their silence.

Yes, Constance, it does get better.

Constance McMillen has amended her complaint against the Itawamba County School District to include the “mean prom” held in Evergreen County. The complaint is supported by comments made on La Figa by a student from Constance’s high school after the photos of the “mean prom” surfaced here.

In her original complaint, a federal lawsuit, Constance sought monetary damages for infringement on her free-speech rights. The suit claimed that the Itawamba County School District infringed upon those rights by canceling its original prom on the school property rather than allowing her to attend with a same-sex date and to wear a tuxedo.

The “mean prom” adds a whole ‘nother layer of ugly and damages to the complaint.

Patsy R. Brumfield and Chris Kieffer from NEMS360 reported:

The amended complaint, filed today, also claims that the private prom to which McMillen was invited was “a sham” and that the school district helped plan a second private prom that McMillen was not invited to attend.

School district attorney Michele Floyd did not immediately respond to a call requesting comment about that allegation…

The amended complaint asks for compensatory damages to be determined by a trial for Constance’s “public humiliation and disparagement,” as well as mental health, medical and educational impact she’s felt.

Constance has asked to be transferred to a school outside the Itawamba County School District to complete her senior year. A letter requesting the transfer included as evidence in the amended complaint cites

the misplaced enmity among the student body and the community against Constance for “causing” at least one prom to be canceled.

The complaint posted up on NMissCommentor contains a quote from a student which was originally posted on La Figa by legbeg10, a student at Itawamba Agriculture High School. The complaint states in part:

The next morning, on March 30, 2010, Constance received multiple text messages from classmates that had been sent the night before accusing her of causing the Tupelo prom to be canceled. One such text message said, in words or substance, “Heard you got the other prom canceled. Good job.” Other texts said, in words or substance, “You don’t even deserve to go to our school,” and “Are you going to ruin graduation too?” Later that day, another classmate sent a text message that said, in words or substance, “I don’t know why you come to this school because no one likes your gay ass anyways.”…

In the following days, Constance heard rumors that at least one other prom was being organized for the same night as the Fulton Country Club prom. She unsuccessfully attempted to determine if she was invited to that other prom…

Constance and her date arrived at the Fulton Country Club at approximately 8:30 p.m. When they arrived, they faced a virtually empty room. Only seven other students were in attendance. Defendant Wiygul [the school principal] and several IAHS faculty members were also in attendance as chaperones. When Constance returned home later that evening, she broke down in tears.

In the following days, as the news about the Evergreen Prom surfaced, one classmate asserted in an internet posting that other students had organized the Evergreen Prom specifically to exclude Constance, stating: “We wanted a drama-free gathering to celebrate 3 great years and 1 lousy one together, and we wanted to lay low. We also wanted to do it without the main cause of the lousy.” The student explained that her classmates were unapologetic about excluding Constance, asserting: “So we did, and now we’re getting flack because poor Connie’s ego got a bit of bruising. She’s playing the lesbian card to prove she ALWAYS gets what she wants. This time, we didn’t just let her.”

(photo: kurafire)

Three faces of Pride will ride as Grand Marshals in this year’s New York City Pride March, June 27:

Judy Shepard, mother of hate-slain gay teen Matthew Shepard, co-founded with her husband Dennis the Matthew Shepard Foundation, which is dedicated to working toward the causes championed by Matthew during his life: social justice, diversity awareness and education, and equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

Lt. Dan Choi, West Point graduate and Iraq veteran fluent in Arabic, received a notice of  discharge from the United States Army for announcing “I am gay” on the Rachel Maddow show, a direct challenge to Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. (That discharge is still classified as “pending.”) A  tireless champion of equal rights, Lt. Choi was recently arrested for chaining himself to the White House fence during a demonstration for LGBT rights.

Constance McMillen, who wanted to wear a tuxedo and take her girlfriend to the prom at her Mississippi high school. When those rights were denied by the administration at Itawamba Agricultural High School, McMillen’s case was taken up by the ACLU, and a federal judge ruled that Constance’s rights were violated. While the school went ahead and organized a prom, the majority of her classmates attended a private “dance party” several miles away. Previously, Constance had stood up for the rights of trans classmate Juin Baize.

A number of students from Itawamba Agricultural High School have  joined the discussion on the post The MEANEST Town in America.  According to the most recent comments, there were three

parent run proms

for students on the night of April 2, the night of the country club prom that Constance attended with five others. The student, screen name fentdog goes on to say:

I don’t much about the school run prom. I do know that everyone went to Evergreen because more work was put into it.

As the photos show, a lot of work went into the Evergreen prom, including a marquee tent with decorations like huge cut outs of masks seen above, balloon arches and disco lights.

The student writes that the Evergreen  event did not have tickets, that there were no invitations, instead kids were “told about” the Evergreen event. The student writes about Constance

people tried to go contact her, but she would never pick up her phone. On the night of the prom, she goes to a different one…the school sponsored one. She didn’t know that everyone had decided to go to Evergreen, thus she had a fit. I can personally recall trying to call Constance to go to Evergreen….but she never answered.

Hmmm, okay. So then why wasn’t she emailed, or Facebooked about it? And what about the other kids who showed up at the country club?

The Evergreen prom/dance party, the one which had photos that appeared on Facebook, the one with kids dressed to the nines cruising away stretch SUVs, the one “everyone went to” where two girls where photographed tongue kissing, shared the same theme as the original school prom which was to be held at the IAHS Commons, according to a memo, dated February 5, which appears to be from the school, issued by two teachers.

The apparent memo about the original prom stated the theme, Masquerade. That theme is seen in photos from the Evergreen party.

The memo also laid down the criteria for the students’ guests. It clearly states that  guests

must be of the opposite sex

Constance challenged that.

Constance isn’t the first student to face discrimination at IAHS. Just before Constance spoke out, another student was forced to leave town.

On February 4, 2010,  WTVA reported that IAHS student Juin Baize was suspended for wearing make up, women’s clothing and boots to school.  Juin, who per Dan Savage, currently prefers the use of the male pronoun, said

They told me that I can not come to school dressed like a girl.

The story continues:

And that’s unfair…says Juin’s friend, senior Constance McMillen.

She says a group of girls came to school Thursday morning, dressed as guys in support of Juin dressing like he does.

Constance says the principal immediately told Juin to go home.

McMillen said, “Mr. Wiygul came to Juin and told him he had to leave and I stopped Mr. Wiygul and I said Mr. Wiygul why are you making him leave? Because he’s dressed like a girl? And he said yes, and I said you know that’s not fair because all of us are dressed like boys. Why aren’t you telling us to leave? And he just said I’m following orders from the school board and I said you can’t rightfully make him leave and not make us leave because, I mean, it’s the same thing.”

Juin was was given a suspension notice and sent home, and when he returned to school after his first suspension, he was suspended again. The reasons for a student’s suspension are supposed to be noted on the suspension form, but that part of Baize’s suspension notice was left blank, according to Kristy Bennett, legal director of the ACLU of Mississippi.

Bennett told Dan Savage:

Juin’s case was a situation where a transgender student wanted to attend school dressed in feminine clothing, and the school district would not even let him attend school.

Neither the superintendent nor school board attorney wanted to go on camera with WTVA, but both did talk to WTVA by phone at the time of the incident, telling the news station that they.

are simply following the handbook rules, which allows a student to be sent home, if he or she is determined to be a distraction.

The situation escalated, and Juin’s mother, who had just relocated from Indiana to stay with relatives, moved Juin out of state to live friends, fearing for Juin’s safety. Juin is currently attending a virtual school, and the ACLU which was investigating the cae said they won’t be pursuing it.

Juin not being in Fulton makes it difficult for us to pursue any kind of legal action here. And personally, I feel it may be a better decision for Juin to relocate and move on with his life.

The “distraction” issue is being used by the American Family Association to bolster the IAHS school board’s decision. In an editorial published on the Itawamba County Journal site, NEM360.com, Bryan Fisher, the AFA’s Director of Issues Analysis cites a Supreme Court decision, Morse v. Frederick (2007)

that school officials are entitled to restrict student speech and expressions in order to maintain an orderly, disruption-free school environment.

But a reader succinctly refutes that, stating that Fisher misrepresents Morse v. Fredrick, which was case about drug usage, quoting an analysis:

Joseph Frederick, a student at Juneau-Douglas High School  in Juneau, Alaska, displayed a banner at a high school event on which was written:  “Bong Hits 4 Jesus.”  The principle, Deborah Morse, regarded the banner as promoting illegal drugs and confiscated the banner and suspended the student.  After the Ninth Circuit held that the principle violated the student’s First Amendment’s rights, the Supreme Court overturned and held that his rights were not violated…

Chief Justice Roberts wrote “[And] that the rights of students ‘must be applied in light of the special characteristics of the school environment.’ … Consistent with these principles, we hold that schools may take steps to safeguard those entrusted to their care from speech that can reasonably be regarded as encouraging drug use.”

The environment at IAHS may come up very soon. Chris Keifer reports in NEM360.com

The American Civil Liberties Union is questioning the motives behind the two events as it drafts its lawsuit seeking damages from the Itawamba County School District…

We are disappointed at the sparse attendance (at the event McMillen attended), and we’re looking further into the situation,” said Kristy Bennett, legal director of the ACLU of Mississippi.

“Whatever we find will be brought to the court’s attention, whether it is in the damages trial, or whatever. There will still be a trial on the merits. The case didn’t end in the preliminary hearing.”

[ht Dan Savage,  Queerty.com]

Considering how much grief Sarah Palin gave Rahm Emanuel when he called liberal Democrats “f*cking retarded,” I hope she’ll have something to say about the kids from Itawamba Agricultural High and their cruel dismissal of two learning disabled kids who were sent to the “official” prom with other seven students–including Constance McMillen whose only wish for the prom was to wear a tux and bring her girlfriend–while the majority of their classmates danced away at a private event some called a prom on their Facebook pages.

Dear Sarah Palin,

You are a super all-American mom who fiercely defends her kids. I hope your son Trig is never treated the way some of the students at Itawamba Agricultural High School were this past weekend.

Can you imagine how excited these sweet teens were to go to the prom at the country club? The joy they felt in their formal wear, the pride their parents had as they took pictures and dropped them off with their corsages in place? What a momentous occasion for any teen, and what a huge landmark for a learning disabled kid, going to the prom!

And then comes the horrible realization that they were set up…only nine people are there! Where are all rest of the kids, the pretty girls, the smiling jocks? Well, gee they are at another party, one these kids weren’t invited to.

Mrs. Palin, here’s what one student, who goes by the screenname of softballgirl10 wrote:

and i don’t understand the disabled kids stuff, we don’t even talk to them, so stop judging. they could have come to our prom if they wanted to.

That’s right, Mrs. Palin, the students who went to the secret prom “don’t even talk to” the disabled kids. How could these kids have “come to our prom if they wanted to”?

These kids were treated like pariahs. I hope you take a stand for these disabled kids like you did when Rahm Emanuel called people “retarded.” You have shown America that disabled and special needs kids  are  a glorious gift and that they deserve the respect and compassion. And to be treated as equals.

On behalf of the kids of Fulton, all kids and the kids they may have, and all the people they will meet and affect, please take a stand and let the students and families of IASH class of 2010 know that what they did was wrong, cruel and downright mean to others and to themselves, as lying and deceiving are self-harm and thus sin. This is not what America stands for, this is not who Americans are. Mrs. Palin, you have often made much of the importance of  American values. This is a matter of values, of principle; not politics.

Respectfully,

Lisa Derrick

So a lot of the kids from Itawamba Agricultural High ’10 seem to have gone to the same prom this weekend, judging by their public Facebook pages, captured here by an intrepid sleuth. Cassandra Lee Maier wrote on March 29 that she was

sick and tired of the damn prom being cancelled. what the hell happened this time??

but on Saturday she posted a smiley icon saying that she had an awesome time at the prom, and that

it was so pretty

Danthon Huddleston was really happy.

Had soooooo much fun lastnight thank you; all the parents whoade lastnight possible and a might to remember thank you. Seniors our year is back on track!!! :)

On Saturday morning, Angel Russell posted on Facebook

had so much fun last night………never knew I could dance that much :)…. BEST EVER!!!!

On a photo from Angie Byrd Sherrer’s Facebook page where she posted pictures of her daughter Holly dancing at the private no-gays prom (Mrs Sherrer has since made her page private), student Mckenzie Mina King posted this:

bahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. haha. waittt, i still dont think im finished laughing….

hahahahaha.

i just love youuuuuuuu.

Pam Spaulding reports that

Fulton not only displayed rank homophobia, it raised the bar of evil by sending learning-disabled students to the fake prom, clearly labeling them “others.”

Constance McMillen herself told the Advocate:

Two students with learning difficulties were among the seven people at the country club event, McMillen recalls. “They had the time of their lives,” McMillen says. “That’s the one good thing that come out of this, [these kids] didn’t have to worry about people making fun of them [at their prom].”

I can see some of the same dresses in these pictures posted by different students.

Just a reminder to the non-white kids , non-disabled kids who went to this event: Forty-five years ago, in Birmingham, Alabama the same stunt got pulled on a black girl.

Think about civil rights for moment.

And if that’s not fucked up enough, now there’s a FB group called Constance, Quit Yer Cryin

Okay. My work here is done. Let’s see what Sarah Palin has to say about this…

UPDATE: More photos from the prom and more on La Figa

Constance McMillen’s prom was this weekend. And the town of Fulton, Mississippi is getting a reputation as the meanest place in America.

Last month a federal judge in Mississippi ruled that Constance McMillen’s rights were violated when she was not allowed to wear a tuxedo and bring her girlfriend to the Itawamba Agricultural High School prom. Judge Davidson would hold a trial on the matter later and stopped short of requiring the school board to reinstate the prom, as parents had already formulated their plan to hold a private prom.

There was a private prom all right. On Wendesday, the school’s attorney announced that “the prom” was to be held at the Fulton Country Club on Friday. Constance, her date and seven other kids showed up.

Because the “real prom” was held in a secret location outside of the county, reports nmisscommentator

How rude, cruel and vile.

A federal court ruled today that Itawamba Agricultural High School violated Constance McMillen’s civil rights when they would not allow her to wear a tuxedo or bring her girlfriend as a her date to the prom. The ACLU took up Constance’s case and Ellen Degeneres had the teen as a guest on her show. There is also a Facebook page Let Constance Take her Girlfriend to the Prom

In their ruling, the court wrote:

“The record shows Constance has been openly gay since eighth grade and she intended to communicate a message by wearing a tuxedo and to express her identity through attending prom with a same-sex date. The Court finds this expression and communication of her viewpoint is the type of speech that falls squarely within the purview of the First Amendment. The Court is also of the opinion that the motive behind the School Board’s cancellation of the prom, or withdrawal of their sponsorship, was Constance’s requests and the ACLU’s demand letter sent on her behalf.”

The court id not order the school board to reinstate the canceled prom, as there is a private prom open to all students that has been organized in Itawamba. Constance and her girlfriend also plan to attend the Mississippi Safe Schools Coalition’s Second Chance Prom, to be held Saturday, May 8 in Tupelo. That event, sponsored by Green Day, Tonic.com, Iron Chef Cat Cora, and Lance Bass, is an annual response to the complaints of LGBT teens that they can’t bring their same-sex dates to school proms.

Constance said happily:

It feels really good that the court realized that the school was violating my rights and discriminating against me by canceling the prom. All I ever wanted was for my school to treat me and my girlfriend like any other couple that wants to go to prom. Now we can all get back to things like picking out our prom night outfits and thinking about corsages.