News Flash: The Right to Attend Prom

(http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-03-10-noprom_N.htm)

“It is not enough to serve our enemies with legal papers.” This might be one of the only things that former President George W. Bush and myself would agree on. However, while Bush probably used this statement to garner supporters for his infamous “War on Terror”, his quote can also be applied to the gay rights movement. As far too many of Americans know, there are many loop holes in and around the legal system. Thus, in order for legal actions to be carried out, especially in the case of gay rights, there also needs to be an overall sense of awareness and support by members of the community. The case of McMillen versus Itawamba Agricultural High School clearly shows that legal action alone is not sufficient enough to increase the rights of same sex couples.

For any high school senior there is one school function that seems like the quintessential event; it is prom. However, for high school seniors in Fulton, Mississippi, this be-all-end-all event no longer is viewed in the same exciting and bright light. Recently, a Mississippi county school board announced, “that it would cancel its upcoming prom after a gay student petitioned to bring a same-sex date to the event” (Joyner 2010). If someone were to ask any of the students at Itawamba Agricultural High School why their prom was cancelled, it is safe to assume that they would respond in two words: Constance McMillen. McMillen, an 18-year-old female senior, not only petitioned the school to allow her to bring her sophomore girlfriend as her date to her prom, but she also requested that she be allowed to wear a tuxedo. Itawamba is just one of many schools that has anti-gay prom policies in place. According to USA Today journalist, Chris Joyner, McMillen and “the Mississippi chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union urged school officials to reverse the policy both on McMillen’s choice of date and attire” (Joyner 2010). The ACLU claimed that prohibiting same-sex dates at prom was a violation of an individual’s rights. This lawsuit, which brought about significant media attention and school disruptions, led to district officials cancelling the prom (or so they say). Despite the fact that the prom had been cancelled, McMillen went on to win her lawsuit. The judge ruled that the school’s anti-gay policy violated the First Amendment. However, Joyner’s article “Miss. Prom canceled after lesbian’s date request” goes on to show that even government legislation and rulings cannot change anti-gay mindset that is held by the majority of the South.

Thus, despite the fact that McMillen won her lawsuit against Itawamba, she ultimately did not win. While the courts ruled that the school had violated her rights, the Court did not require the school to reinstate the prom, for the Court assumed that McMillen would be invited and would attend a prom that was being put together by the parents of the students at Itawamba. However, while McMillen’s classmates danced the night away at the prom that was hosted by the parents, McMillen spent her “prom night” with seven other people, two of whom had learning disabilities. “To prevent Constance McMillen from 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” (Broverman 2010). According to McMillen, they had two proms and she was only invited to one of them. “The one that I went to had seven people there, and everyone went to the other one I wasn’t invited to” (Broverman 2010).

While McMillen acknowledged that she was upset about the way the school handled this situation, she still managed to keep a positive attitude. “Two students with learning difficulties were among the seven people at the county club event…they had the time of their lives…that’s the one good thing that come [sic] out of this, [these kids] didn’t have to worry about people making fun of them [at their prom]” (Broverman 2010). McMillen’s unwavering attitude has not gone unnoticed. In fact, famous talk show host and member of the LGBT, Ellen DeGeneres, awarded McMillen with a $30,000 scholarship because of the courageous action that she took to challenge her school district. Most recently, McMillen has been asked to be one of the grand marshals at this years’ New York City Pride Parade.

Thus, all in all, the school won, for the school followed the courts orders while still accomplishing their main goal. Itawamba was able to follow the courts order, which stated that McMillen had the right to bring a female as a date to her prom, while still not allowing her and her same sex date to attend the prom. Technically, Itawamba did not violate the courts order because they had cancelled their prom and replaced it with another “prom”.

While McMillen has received what seems to be a tremendous amount of support from the outside public, she seems to have been locally supported by only one group, the ACLU. The ACLU claims that they receive requests every year to help students who face anti-gay prom policies (Joyner 2010). The geographical location were the majority of these policies are in effect, are in the South. This should come as no surprise. While other geographical locations are taking steps toward improving the rights of gays and lesbians, the South is trailing far behind. However, the southern states, which include Mississippi, are often referred to as the Red States because the majority of people living there are Republicans. As a result, the South is much more conservative when compared to other sections of the United States.

Presently, same sex couples have virtually no “rights” in the South. Not only are same sex couples not allowed to get married, but also civil unions and domestic partnerships are not recognized. (Peterson 2004). In fact, Mississippi is one of many states to have adopted a Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Mississippi’s DOMA law is a state law that defines “marriage as the union between a man and a woman”(Peterson 2004). Mississippi was not the only state to adopt a DOMA law. Other states that have DOMA laws that explicitly state that marriage is between a man and woman include, Georgia; Louisiana; and Utah. Thus, it is not surprising that McMillen faced such opposition when she petition to bring her girlfriend to her prom since her state has a DOMA law. Mississippi’s DOMA law shows the extent to which the state is against same sex couples. This anti-gay philosophy was put to the test in the case of McMillen vs. Itawamba. For despite a court ruling that McMillen had the right to bring a member of her same sex to a school function, members of the community found a way around this ruling.

In her article, The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House, Lorde argues that differences are essential in a community. These differences that she refers to include homosexuality. Thus, in order for a society to flourish, members of the community must accept these differences, even if these members do not exhibit the traits themselves (Lorde 2). Thus, in regards to McMillen’s case, if other members of the community accepted her difference, homosexuality, the community would be strengthened. Lorde states that people’s “personal visions help lay the groundwork for political action (Lorde 2). In other words, if people of the Fulton community had united around McMillen, the policy that the Court put into action would have held true. Thus, McMillen and her girlfriend would not have been sent to a “fake prom”, and instead they would have been invited to the real prom with the rest of the student body. However, the community recognized her sexuality and instead of “defining and empowering” it, the community chose to “divide and conquer” (Lorde 2). This, approach that McMillen’s peers took, ultimately led to her being ostracized from her community.

In conclusion, the conservative states of the South are still heavily populated with people who are against any sort of same sex couples or rights. Thus, this anti-gay attitude has been the barrier for the overall advancement of gay rights in the Red States. Even despite some small legal action to promote and protect gay rights, same sex couples have not been able to garner many rights. McMillen’s case shows how legal action is not enough to help promote the rights of same sex couples. One can only hope that as other states move towards increasing the rights of gays and lesbians, the South will follow suit.

Bibliography:

Lorde, Audre. The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-03-10-noprom_N.htm

http://www.stateline.org/live/ViewPage.action?siteNodeId=136&languageId=1&contentId=15576

http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2010/04/05/ACLU_Investigating_Fake_Prom/

http://sdgln.com/news/2010/04/13/choi-shepard-mcmillen-named-grand-marshals-new-york-city-pride-march