TEEN/ACLU SUES MS SCHOOL TO HAVE PROM
A lesbian student who wanted to take her girlfriend to her senior prom is asking a federal judge to force her Mississippi school district to reinstate the dance it canceled rather than let the couple attend.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi on Thursday filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Oxford on behalf of 18-year-old Constance McMillen, who said she faced some unhappy classmates after the Itawamba County School District said it wouldn’t host the April 2 prom.
“Somebody said, ‘Thanks for ruining my senior year.’” McMillen said of her reluctant return Thursday to Itawamba Agricultural High School in Fulton.
The lawsuit seeks a court order for the school to hold the prom. It also asks that McMillen be allowed to escort her girlfriend, who also is a student at the school, and wear the tuxedo.
The district’s decision Wednesday came after the ACLU demanded that officials change a policy banning same-sex prom dates because it said it violated students’ rights. The ACLU said the district violated McMillen’s free expression rights by not letting her wear a tux.
McMillen said she never expected the district to respond the way it did.
“A lot of people said that was going to happen, but I said, they had already spent too much money on the prom” to cancel it, she said. – Source – AP
WEDDING BELLS HAVE BEGUN RINGING IN MEXICO CITY
Two glowing brides in matching white gowns and four other same-sex couples made history in Mexico City on Thursday as they wed under Latin America’s first law that explicitly approves gay marriage.
Mayor Marcelo Ebrard was a guest of honor at the weddings of Judith Vazquez and Lol Kin Castaneda and the other couples who tied the knot in a city building, despite harsh criticism from the Roman Catholic Church and a campaign against the measure by President Felipe Calderon’s conservative National Action Party.
Vazquez, a 45-year-old small-business owner, and Castaneda, a 33-year-old psychologist, signed and put their thumb print on the official documents. Then they sealed their union with a kiss amid cheers from family and friends gathered in the colonial-era building’s courtyard, decorated with calla lilies, banners with the colors of Mexico’s flag and a sign that read “Tolerance, Liberty, Equality, Solidarity.”
“This is the mark of freedom,” said Vazquez, raising her thumb. – Source – AP
WILL THE FIGHT TO KEEP SAME-SEX MARRIAGE BEGIN IN NH ?
Granite State voters on Tuesday signaled a desire to vote on same-sex marriage, according to results of town meetings from across the state.
Ballot articles calling for a statewide referendum passed in at least 42 towns, according to results compiled by the New Hampshire Union Leader.
The results so far indicate a clear majority of Granite Staters want to vote on a constitutional amendment defining marriage, said state Rep. David Bates. The Windham Republican has spearheaded a grass-roots campaign to place the non-binding measure on town ballots.
A law allowing same-sex marriage went into effect in January.
“At this point, it’s clear the people want to vote,” Bates said. “It doesn’t mean (a constitutional amendment) is going to pass, but we shouldn’t make a decision for the people based on our speculation of whether it’s going to pass or not.”
Statewide, 133 towns will have weighed in on the marriage question by the end of the week, according to Bates.
According to his tally yesterday, at least 38 towns had passed the measure on Tuesday. – Source – New Hampshire Union Leader
YET ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF THE INJUSTICE OF DADT
Surgeons went to work on five Marines mangled by a roadside bomb.
Multiple blasts near Ramadi, west of Baghdad, had torn off the legs of one soldier. Another Marine required amputation of both legs.
Though the time for prayers would come, Army National Guard chaplain Aris Fokas saw the immediate need in the operating room was for an extra set of hands.
He offered his as doctors and nurses labored late into the night in December 2005.
Fokas got busy retrieving medical supplies, hanging intravenous drips and hand pumping blood through a warmer.
When the need for those tasks waned, Fokas slipped back into the role of chaplain. He spoke and prayed with the wounded and with their buddies, who paced and waited for news.
It was one trying night among many Fokas experienced during an 18-month deployment in Iraq.
Fokas, a United Church of Christ minister, joined the Pennsylvania Army National Guard in 2003. He was 39 years old and felt called to serve his country by pastoring to soldiers on the front lines.
Fokas warmed to the challenges, and many colleagues came to admire his professionalism and humanity.
But now that he’s home, Fokas, 46, is facing a challenge that threatens his future with the military.
An officer has accused Fokas of telling him he is gay.
Although Fokas denies any such disclosure, a commander at Fort Indiantown Gap has ordered an inquiry.
“It is the policy of the United States Army … that homosexuality is incompatible with military service,” Lt. Col. David W. Wood informed Fokas in a memorandum. “Therefore … an investigation is in process to determine if separation action is warranted.”
Fokas, for now, remains in the Guard, but his chaplain duties are suspended pending the investigation’s findings.
Under the 1993 law known as “don’t ask, don’t tell,” more than 13,000 service members have been dismissed for being gay or lesbian. – Source and full article at Army Times
