# US school cancels prom to avoid lesbian student bringing a date **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 11, 2010, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-school-cancels-prom-to-avoid-lesbian-student-bringing-a-date/532108 "2010-03-11T15:28:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-school-cancels-prom-to-avoid-lesbian-student-bringing-a-date/532108/181 "2010-03-24T06:32:18Z")
> [@NinetyWt](#): > > I wonder - in all seriousness - if there would be any way to measure that. Is there any reason why would you say Mississippi? Because that’s the state we’ve been discussing in this thread. > [@NinetyWt](#): > > Have you been here? Nope. > [@NinetyWt](#): > > Have you been to other states? (I mean, states other than your home state). Lots of them. Not sure what the point is though. > [@NinetyWt](#): > > It is true that in the Bible Belt there tends to be more anti-gay sentiment. OK, so we agree then. ---
**Author:** ![Claude\_Remains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@Claude\_Remains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claude_Remains)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-school-cancels-prom-to-avoid-lesbian-student-bringing-a-date/532108/182 "2010-03-24T06:55:34Z")
> [@Claude\_Remains](#): > > I find it hard to believe that even isolated Indian tribes deep in the Amazon basin aren’t burned-out on this gay/lesbian buzzkill. > [@Gyrate](#): > > Those darned gay people just ruin all our fun. “Buzzkill” was aimed at the haters. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-school-cancels-prom-to-avoid-lesbian-student-bringing-a-date/532108/183 "2010-03-24T14:08:12Z")
> [@Yookeroo](#): > > Because that’s the state we’ve been discussing in this thread. Well, I wondered why you would pick Mississippi over other states. By the way, that wasn’t meant in an accusatory way. I’m just curious. > [@](#): > > Lots of them. Not sure what the point is though. I wondered if there was something about Mississippi as compared to other places you had been, that made you feel it was more homophobic. > [@](#): > > OK, so we agree then. We agree that it is a place with a lot of very conservative people who are afraid of “teh gay”. I still wonder how anyone would know whether or not people here are more homophobic than any other state. I think there are lots of homophobic spots around the country, and that it would be difficult to single out one state as being the worst. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-school-cancels-prom-to-avoid-lesbian-student-bringing-a-date/532108/184 "2010-03-24T14:21:06Z")
I dunno, I think we could at least take a stab at it, if we could find a per-capita ranking by state of anti-LGBT violence. (Obviously, the numbers would be skewed by reporting–someone in a particularly problematic area might be even less likely to report a hate crime to avoid retribution–and state/local laws.) A quick Google didn’t turn up anything useful for me, though. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-school-cancels-prom-to-avoid-lesbian-student-bringing-a-date/532108/185 "2010-03-24T14:41:09Z")
I would think a few factors in combination would be best. Would one of them be religion? That’s why I was curious about the percentage of Baptists here. I think Baptists tend to be anti-gay. By the way, I was talking about this with my 21-year old son last night. He remembers going to HS (here in Central MS) with a few gay folks. He couldn’t remember if there were any gay couples at prom, though. He seemed to think nobody would have made a big deal about it. I’m curious about that, I am going to ask my other kids too. ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-school-cancels-prom-to-avoid-lesbian-student-bringing-a-date/532108/186 "2010-03-24T14:45:46Z")
> [@Claude\_Remains](#): > > I find it hard to believe that even isolated Indian tribes deep in the Amazon basin aren’t burned-out on this gay/lesbian buzzkill. Maybe they should send missionaries to Mississippi to make them ‘civilized’: “Now just because their skin is a different color doesn’t mean you can shoot them with a poison dart”. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-school-cancels-prom-to-avoid-lesbian-student-bringing-a-date/532108/187 "2010-03-24T15:25:19Z")
What color would that be? 😛 _As of 2008, Mississippi has an estimated population of 2,938,618[1]. Mississippi’s population has the largest proportion of African Americans of any U.S. state, currently nearly 37%._ I found some other neat things: _The 2000 United States census counted 4,774 same-sex unmarried-partner households in Mississippi.[33][34] Of these, 2,521 are male partner households and 2,523 are female partner households. 41% contained at least one child. South Dakota and Utah were the only other states in which 40 percent or more of same-sex couple households had at least one child living in the household.[34] Mississippi has the largest percentage of African-American same-sex couples among total households. The state capital, Jackson, ranks tenth in the nation in concentration of African-American same-sex couples._ All of that stuff is from the Wikipedia article on Mississippi. Not that it’s any great source, but just wanted to identify where it came from. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-school-cancels-prom-to-avoid-lesbian-student-bringing-a-date/532108/188 "2010-03-24T15:52:15Z")
The federal court heard the request for a preliminary injunction against the school district and denied it. However, the opinion denying it was very supportive of the plaintiff, and does not bode well for the school district should the student choose to seek damages. The opinion basically said, “The same-sex couple has every right to attend; the school’s claim that it simply withdrew sponsorship instead of ‘canceled’ the prom is bullshit; and the only reason I’m not ordering the school to reinstate the prom is that a bunch of private citizens stepped up to put on an alternate prom, which will be open to all.” ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-school-cancels-prom-to-avoid-lesbian-student-bringing-a-date/532108/189 "2010-03-26T13:06:02Z")
> [@Claude\_Remains](#): > > “Buzzkill” was aimed at the haters. Ah - gotcha ya. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-school-cancels-prom-to-avoid-lesbian-student-bringing-a-date/532108/190 "2010-03-26T13:35:36Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > I have no opinion on this topic but I do believe there are valid arguments from both points of view Well, then, you’ve crossed the line between “having an open mind” and “having a gaping hole in your head and letting your brains fall out”. > [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > I doubt anyone here is going to be silly enough to say “Well it _is_ her fault for getting the formal cancelled and making a fuss about it is only going to make things worse” Well, yes, just as we don’t generally get people silly enough to say “The Earth is 6000 years old but God made it look like it’s five billion to test our faith”. (Admittedly, the two statements aren’t quite equivalent – one is a statement of opinion, the other is a judgment of objective fact.) ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-school-cancels-prom-to-avoid-lesbian-student-bringing-a-date/532108/191 "2010-03-26T14:15:03Z")
> [@Juliana](#): > > The past is the past. Let the past die in peace. Would love to, but the past will not die peacefully. It must be bludgeoned into the grave and then buried while still kicking and screaming. Even then we must be vigilent for zombies for two or three generations. Add to that the groups that will go out and dig the fear and prejudices up to spread them anew. Peaceful is a lovely idea, it just ain’t gonna happen. Every social advancement in the past century demonstrates this. From desegregation to women’s suffrage to interracial marriage. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-school-cancels-prom-to-avoid-lesbian-student-bringing-a-date/532108/192 "2010-03-26T16:29:46Z")
I’m surprised that Mississippi is worse than Northern Arkansas. It completely overwhelmed me to see how much more accepting people are of homosexuality everywhere else. I though I was being progressive when I said “Let the homosexuals do what they want.” ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-school-cancels-prom-to-avoid-lesbian-student-bringing-a-date/532108/193 "2010-04-06T03:13:14Z")
Here’s an update: [McMillen: I Was Sent to Fake Prom](http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2010/04/05/ACLU_Investigating_Fake_Prom/) > [@](#): > > To avoid Constance McMillen bringing a female date to her prom, the teen was sent to a “fake prom” while the rest of her class partied at a secret location at an event organized by parents. > > McMillen tells The Advocate that a parent-organized prom happened behind her back — she and her date were sent to a Friday night event at a country club in Fulton, Miss., that attracted only five other students. Her school principal and teachers served as chaperones, but clearly there wasn’t much to keep an eye on. > > “They had two proms and I was only invited to one of them,” McMillen says. “The one that I went to had seven people there, and everyone went to the other one I wasn’t invited to.” > > Last week McMillen asked one of the students organizing the prom for details about the event, and was directed to the country club. “It hurts my feelings,” McMillen says. > > 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].” > > … Such assholes. As has been pointed out, Constance comes out ahead in the end. She stands up for herself and her girlfriend, gets publicity against bigotry and for tolerance, gets a scholarship, and is an inspiration to gay kids everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-school-cancels-prom-to-avoid-lesbian-student-bringing-a-date/532108/194 "2010-04-06T03:16:26Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > Here’s an update: > [McMillen: I Was Sent to Fake Prom](http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2010/04/05/ACLU_Investigating_Fake_Prom/) > > Such assholes. As has been pointed out, Constance comes out ahead in the end. She stands up for herself and her girlfriend, gets publicity against bigotry and for tolerance, gets a scholarship, and is an inspiration to gay kids everywhere. … … … … so all our hopes were up for nothing? … I’m MORE shocked that they would be sent to a “fake” prom than that the original was cancelled. This is absolutely fucking horrible. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-school-cancels-prom-to-avoid-lesbian-student-bringing-a-date/532108/195 "2010-04-06T05:20:05Z")
I don’t understand exactly what’s going in here. From the past apragraph of the linked article: > [@](#): > > …But Hampton says McMillen was never invited and organizers made it very difficult for her to find information on the time and location. That prom was later mysteriously canceled, with the Friday night event at the country club officially replacing it. So what’s the reality? Was there a secret “real” prom and a fake “lame” prom? Was there going to be a secret prom, that was canceled when she found out about it? Did she go to the real prom, and almost everyone else boycotted it? ---
**Author:** ![Laudenum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Laudenum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laudenum)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-school-cancels-prom-to-avoid-lesbian-student-bringing-a-date/532108/196 "2010-04-06T10:58:52Z")
Unless no-one likes her I find it difficult to understand how they could keep it a secret like that from her - an entire town and no-one blabbed? ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-school-cancels-prom-to-avoid-lesbian-student-bringing-a-date/532108/197 "2010-04-06T11:27:10Z")
> [@Laudenum](#): > > Unless no-one likes her I find it difficult to understand how they could keep it a secret like that from her - an entire town and no-one blabbed? I suspect that people who did like her are being pressured to avoid her; peer pressure is awful at that age. Or maybe her friends weren’t invited. Considering how much very bad press the town is getting, I suspect everyone at that school but her is getting all kinds of heat from their parents and other friends to stay away from her. That poor gal. Note that they also sent a couple of learning-disabled teens to the “fake” prom as well. Apparently they discriminate against more than lesbians. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-school-cancels-prom-to-avoid-lesbian-student-bringing-a-date/532108/198 "2010-04-06T12:45:45Z")
Just when you think this can’t get any more ridiculous, it does. I’m glad Constance McMillen is being a mature adult about the situation, because the actual adults aren’t coming close. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-school-cancels-prom-to-avoid-lesbian-student-bringing-a-date/532108/199 "2010-04-06T12:51:07Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > Note that they also sent a couple of learning-disabled teens to the “fake” prom as well. Apparently they discriminate against more than lesbians. No no no, you’ve got it all wrong. Lesbians are retarded. Jesus, they’re not THAT close-minded. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-school-cancels-prom-to-avoid-lesbian-student-bringing-a-date/532108/200 "2010-04-06T13:16:58Z")
So is there going to be legal fall-out from this additional dastardly trick? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-school-cancels-prom-to-avoid-lesbian-student-bringing-a-date/532108.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-school-cancels-prom-to-avoid-lesbian-student-bringing-a-date/532108.md?page=11)