A Northern Mississippi school district has cancelled its annual prom rather than change a policy that forbids same-sex couples from attending. The ACLU of Mississippi had asked Itawamba County school officials to allow an 18 year-old student, Constance McMillen, to attend with her girlfriend, who is also a student.
According to the Asheville Citizen-Times:
The ACLU said McMillen approached school officials…because she knew same-sex dates had been banned in the past. The ACLU said district officials told McMillen she and her girlfriend wouldn’t be allowed to arrive together, that she would not be allowed to wear a tuxedo, and that she and her girlfriend might be asked to leave if their presence made any other students “uncomfortable.”
…
Anna Watson, a 17-year-old junior at the high school, was looking forward to the prom, especially since the town’s only hotspot is the bowling alley, she said.
“I am a little bummed out about it. I guess it’s a decision that had to be made. Either way someone was going to get disappointed — either Constance was or we were,” Watson said. “I don’t agree with homosexuality, but I can’t change what another person thinks or does.”
Other students are on McMillen’s side.
McKenzie Chaney, 16, said she wasn’t planning to attend the prom, but “it’s kind of ridiculous that they can’t let her wear the tuxedo and it all be over with.”
