11/12/09
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8 comments
School won’t ban lesbians from prom
THARPTOWN (AP) — A northwest Alabama school district reversed itself and won’t bar a high school student from bringing her girlfriend to the prom after the principal initially said the lesbian couple wouldn’t be permitted to attend. Cynthia Stewart, 17, told the Florence TimesDaily that she asked to bring her girlfriend to the prom at Tharptown High School in Franklin County but was refused permission by the principal. Stewart sought help from the American Civil Liberties Union, and school officials on Tuesday said they had reconsidered. The school reviews all potential prom dates who, like Stewart’s girlfriend, live outside the regular attendance district. Assistant Superintendent Donald Borden said that process hasn’t begun but would include the young woman. “If her date passes, she comes,” he said. The checks screen out troublemakers and students with documented behavioral problems. ACLU attorney Hank Sherrod III said Stewart’s girlfriend “is a teenager with no problems that would keep her from being able to attend the prom.” ‘Like everyone else’ “We’re not asking for special treatment. We just want to be treated like everyone else,” he said. Kathy Baker, who is Stewart’s aunt and legal guardian, appealed the principal’s initial refusal to the school board last month. Sherrod said allowing Stewart to bring the date of her choice to the prom was the correct decision. “This issue is going to be confronting a lot of conservative school districts more and more as this generation accepts people for who they are,” Sherrod said. “There is case law that makes right and wrong very clear.”
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Congratulations to this gutsy young lady and her date, and to the ACLU.
Hope they have a great time at the prom. And it's sad that the ACLU has to step in to remind people we are in the 21st century.
Even if we are the 21st century, this is not something we have to accept!!! I am sure that I will be flooded with comments concerning this issue and probably quite a few people will be mad as heck about this, but I am so sick of "alternative lifestyles" being shoved down my throat. Every popular television show has a homosexual character, a lot of the good movies have a homosexual character, we even have entire television channels devoted to homosexuals. When will it stop? Yes, I realize, I could change channels, but there are none that you can change to. Why should I have to censor every single show my children are allowed to watch? Why should I have to cringe every single time a good show decides to become "politically correct" and adds a homosexual character? And yes, for anyone who wants to ask, I have family members that have chosen an alternative lifestyle, but they don't shove it down everyone else's throats. America has become the land of embracing EVERYONE. We embrace homosexuals, we embrace terrorist, we are even encouraged to embrace criminals. Yes, I said criminals. Illegal aliens are just that. It is against the law to come into our country without permission. If you are an illegal allien, then you are a criminal. Now, politicians are encouraging us to embrace them. They are trying to tax us so that illegals can get more of our money. I love America and it is still the best place to live, but I am truly wondering what and where we will be in 20 or 30 years. We have become entirely too tolerant. Too tolerant of everything!
R, I agree 100%.
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO K i WILL NEVER ACCEPT ALTERNATIVE LIFE STYLE !!!IT'S A DMNATIN TOTHE WORD OF GOD
You equate homosexuals with terrorists and criminals? You cannot compare apples and oranges. They are not all fruits. Pun intended.
Your statement reminded me of another on stated earlier today. " I am not a homophobe. I have homosexual friends and family." Whoopy for you. Racists say the same thing. Still makes it wrong.
No, James, I was not equating them with terrorists and criminals. If you would kindly read my post, you would see that I was actually talking about America becoming tolerant of anything and everything. I was trying to point out that because of all of the "political correctness" we have to endure, we are now being forced to tolerate things that we shouldn't have to. Writing to the television stations doesn't help, the ACLU gets involved. Writing to your local politician doesn't really help, they are too worried about the next vote. I am simply just sick and tired of my family having to endure the crap that the government imposes on us. I will still say, America is the best place to live, but it is a far cry from what is was 20 years ago.
Also, just let me point out that a homophobe is a person that suffers from homophobia. The term now means irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against homosexuality or homosexuals. But, the word was originally used for an actual medical condition. It was a fear of homosexuals which seemed to be associated with a fear of contagion, a fear of reducing the things one fought for — home and family. It was a religious fear and it had led to great brutality as fear always does. So, I guess anyone who thinks that homosexuality is a SIN, would be considered a homophobe by today's meaning. If so, then yes I am. But, if you go back to the original meaning, then I certainly do not have a medical fear. I am simply a Christian and my Bible plainly states that homosexuality is a sin. I am not judging those who chose to live their life differently, I just choose to not condone it.
at what time did the couple involved force anything on anyone? she just wants to go to a dance with her friend. i see no one forcing anything on anyone. that is unless the prom is being held at your house....