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Constance McMillen, an 18-year-old senior at Itawamba County Agricultural High School, is photographed in Fulton, Miss., Thursday, March 11, 2010, a day after her high school announced the cancellation of the April 2 prom. (AP Photo/Matthew Sharpe)
Constance McMillen's attorneys filed an amended complaint to the suit filed on March 11. The suit claimed that the Itawamba County School District infringed upon McMillen's free-speech rights by canceling its prom instead of allowing McMillen to attend with a same-sex date and to wear a tuxedo.
A U.S. District judge did not grant an injunction sought by McMillen's lawyers to force the district to hold the prom, but he did rule that McMillen's rights were violated. Judge Glen H. Davidson then gave McMillen's lawyers 30 days to amend their petition for a suit seeking damages.
The amended complaint, filed today, also claims that the private prom to which McMillen was invited was "a sham" and that the school district helped plan a second private prom that McMillen was not invited to attend.
School district attorney Michele Floyd did not immediately respond to a call requesting comment about that allegation.
The amended complaint asks for compensatory damages to be determined by a trial for Constance's "public humiliation and disparagement," as well as mental health, medical and educational impact she's felt.
Constance apparently has taken medical leave from IAHS, the lawsuit states, and seeks to transfer out of the district.
The lawsuit also reports verbal harassment against Constance since the prom incidents and legal confrontations.
• For more details, come back to NEMS360.com or read Thursday's Daily Journal.
How is what the students/parents/faculty did any different from what was tried against blacks in the 60's? We learned as a nation that 'seperate but equal' just doesn't cut it, and it won't in this case either.
Like it or not, sexual preference has been determined to be as inherent as eye or skin color. So what you have effectively done is just find another "race" to try and suppress /discriminate against. Nice.
I can't wait for the courts to bring you all screaming and shaking into the 21st century with the rest of the country...
Were her rights not identical to every one else? Every other female had the right to come to the prom with any male who would ask them and any male they were willing to go with. No one had any right to go, per se, with some one they were in love with or really liked. They had the right to go with someone of the opposite sex. Constance had the same exact right as every one else. Same with marriage. There is no right to marry some one you love. The government has always promoted marriage between male and female to maintain families with children, and probably too civilize young men. Therefore, each of you males- regardless of your sexual preferences- has the right to marry any female you can talk into it. You all have the same rights.
And the government or nsociety gains no advantage if Joe marries Ed. This will not produce strong children for the work force and military. Men marrying women will, while providing a natural family for those children, most of the time. And this result is to the advantage of every one.
No bully here. Just straight sense.
I bumped into two lesbo friends of mine this afternoon. They agree with me and not the ACLU and girl. They can see straight through this facade. They prefer to keep the sweet and low for their own entertainment. Of course they said they might be tempted to sue and come out, but not for chump change of $30,000 and a Grand Marshall in the Gay parade.
I see someone else has heard the conversations about sueing the girl, ACLU and lawyers in their individual capacities. I understand they may let them get hooked into the trial on the merits first so they can't keep changing their stories.
First of all let me apologize, I typed this once before so if you see 2 posts from me that are slightly different it's because of computer error.
Now, what facts have I provided? Pics from the "dance" that showed teen aged girls scantily clad and french kissing one another (distracting), facebook pages of teens saying "we got her good" etc, facebook pages from the school board presidents wife saying defamatory things, the link to the original posts and screen shots from constance quit your cryin'.
You see while these teens were spreading hate all over the internet (like a bunch of dummies) some people were taking screen shots of all of the ignorant things they were saying, and that info has been sent to the ACLU.
You can think this isn't news worthy all you want, but I believe this is going to make history. I think some things are going to change in MS and I have the honor of saying I'm on the right side of the fight. You will have an asterisk by your face/name because you were the big tough guy on the wrong side of the fight, who did his best to fight against a teen aged girl. oooo that makes you cool.
She can show damages, it's pretty simple when the ACLU has been provided with multiple screen shots of the hate that her "fellow" students were puking all over the internet.
Now we know why the ACLU's pleadings and case are so pathetic. It's the quality of information they are being given.
I may turn this into a TV reality show. HOW TO BE A SUCKER (no pun intended)
Where is the next Lesbian love fest ? I should be invited or I'll sue !!!
Schools cant just change things in the middle of the year to accomidate one student or two.
Challenge the rule for the future. Dont demand it be changed for you. Point out the problems and ask for them to be corrected. Dont insist you get them changed for you personally. If things are not reasonably handled then you can seek a lawsuit.
1) having a rule in their handbook that states students can not dress in a manner to distract.
2) not changing that rule when a boy wants to wear high heal boots that would distract any southern high school.
Let me also point out that all schools in Mississippi have that same dress code rule.
Also, that rule of prom dates was in effect long before Constance.
My point is....There is nothing they could have done at that point that would have prevented a lawsuit.
The right thing? just let the kid dress how she wanted and bring whom she chose? well that would have then caused a lawsuit by the ACLU for the boy.
Their only option was to stand by the rules set forth and change them for the next school year.
Do i think it was all handled properly? NO. Lots of things have gone wrong and that is what happens when you someone screams gay rights.
The ACLU and the gay community need to stop using this child. Stop making her out to be an innocent victim. Things have been done wrong on BOTH sides of this problem.
there are always two sides of every story and somewhere in the middle lies the truth.
And Constance IS getting help from people with not only her's but others LIKE her's best interest in mind. Hopefully, no other gay student in Itawamba county, or for that matter the State of Mississippi, will have to go through this again.
As far as the School Board is concerned, if they felt they were backed into a corner, then the way OUT of the corner is to admit you were wrong, and CHANGE THE RULES. The repercussions would have been a LOT less.
And while I'm at it, to SouthernAmerican: Your diatribe is EXACTLY why everyone outside the South thinks we're all just like you: hillbilly redneck neanderthals. You and people like you are why we're at the bottom of just about everyone's list of socially acceptable society. Do yourself and your state a favor and come into the 21st. century, OK?
i can understand the choices the school made. i think they were backed against a wall with the whole thing when you look at it from the VERY BEGINNING. the beginning of this was with the boy, not constance asking to go to prom with a girl. my opionion is that it was a trap set up and the school didn't react the way she wanted. She wanted a yes or no answer.
with all of that being said....i will say i am not against any gay person. i think let them be what they will be. There are just ways to go about changing things and an ACLU lawsuit is not one of them. I have said before that Constance needs guidance and not from the ACLU. She needs help from adults that have her best interest in mind, not their bank accounts.
It seems that tolerance isn't a big theme in this area, that's sad. More of the parents, who are preaching hate, should try to teach their children that there is a big world outside of Fulton, and they are going to run in to people who dress differently, act differently and love differently, if we don't teach our children tolerance now, how are we to expect them to act right when they get outside of that area? Honestly?
Buffalo: You followed a link that's great but you didn't read the whole thing. Again, if you want to put that out there that's all well and good, but read the whole thing and then talk about it.