Gay Mississippi Prom Girl Has Other Options

(March 24) -- Who needed the Itawamba Agricultural High School prom anyway?

Constance McMillen, a gay Mississippi teenager whose senior prom was canceled after she told high school officials she planned to attend with her girlfriend, has other options. Since her battle with her school district became public, McMillen has received invitations to events far eclipsing the profile of her rural Mississippi high school.

In a split decision Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Glen H. Davidson said school officials in Fulton, Miss., had violated McMillen's rights by refusing to let her attend the April 2 prom with her girlfriend. But he refused to order the district to hold the dance, citing a private prom to be held by parents in the town.

"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," Davidson wrote, setting another court hearing at an unspecified date.

Ben Griffith, an attorney for the school district, told The Associated Press he was satisfied with the ruling. "What we're looking at now is the fact that the case is still on the docket for a trial on the merits," he said.

McMillen, 18, and her lawyers at the American Civil Liberties Union also claimed victory.

"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," McMillen said in a statement on the ACLU's Web site.

ACLU attorney Kristy Bennett told The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Miss., that the ruling "clearly tells school districts there is a First Amendment right to bring same-sex dates to the prom."

McMillen and the ACLU may indeed have reason to celebrate, and not just because of the partial court victory. In the month since school officials canceled the prom and the ACLU filed a petition to have it reinstated, McMillen has become a symbol in a national debate about gay rights and popular culture.

New Orleans businessman Sean Cummings offered to throw the students a prom at one of his hotels. Film director Paul Saltzman, who made a documentary about a Mississippi school district that held its first racially integrated prom two years ago, came to McMillen's defense as well. He offered to screen his film, "Prom Night in Mississippi," on the night of the Itawamba prom to show his support for gay rights.

"It's about tolerance, ultimately. It doesn't matter whether it is white or black or gay or straight," Cummings told The Clarion-Ledger on March 13.

On March 15, McMillen appeared on "The Wanda Sykes Show," where the openly gay comedian invited her to attend the GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) Awards on April 17, an event dedicated to celebrating those who fight against homophobia.

Also last week, McMillen appeared on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," where she received a $30,000 scholarship from Tonic, a Web site "dedicated to promoting the good that happens around the world each day." DeGeneres, who is also gay, said she admired the teen. "When I was your age, I never would have had the strength to do what you are doing," DeGeneres told her.

A Facebook page, "Let Constance Take Her Girlfriend to Prom!," has more than 440,000 fans. And while McMillen said Tuesday that she and her girlfriend have yet to be invited to the private prom being held in her hometown, they will be attending Mississippi Safe Schools Coalition's Second Chance Prom on May 8, which is open to gays students and their allies.

McMillen has said that while she's received some support, her community has not been as kind. Things have been "hostile" at school since the prom was canceled, she said.

Some students there are simply upset about losing their prom.

"I am a little bummed out about it," 17-year-old Anna Watson told the AP. "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. I don't agree with homosexuality, but I can't change what another person thinks or does."

Mayor Paul Walker stood by the decision to cancel. "I think the community as a whole is probably in support of the school district," he told the AP.