Constance McMillen had a simple question for her high school principal: she wanted to make sure it was okay for her to wear a tux and bring her girlfriend to prom. What ensued became much bigger than anyone would have anticipated: the school told her no, and when she told them that their ruling was discrimination and that her lawyer would be contacting them, the Itawamba County School District (located in Fulton, Mississippi) decided to cancel prom altogether.
You can hear Constance tell her story in this segment from CBS’ The Early Show:
What’s most disheartening about this is the fact that not only is the school okaying discrimination, it’s even encouraging it. The students, surely having heard about the case by now, are blaming Constance for the whole fiasco. One student approached her the day after the announcement and told Constance “you ruined my senior year.”
The ACLU has provided Constance with a lawyer, who is planning on suing the school district with the end goal of reinstating the prom. But, as the school has yet to engage any of the media regarding the situation, it’s unclear as to if this will be cleared up in the three weeks until the prom’s intended date.
To show your support for Constance, you have a couple of options. You can become a fan of “Let Constance Take Her Girlfriend to Prom!” on Facebook by clicking here. You can also find the names and email addresses of the Itawamba County School District by clicking here.
Video via CBSNews.com
Image of Constance McMillen courtesy Associated Press via Yahoo.com.
