The two seniors don't just have the support of their classmates. It appears much of the town is pleased with their victory. So much so that their names are displayed on a sign at one of the local businesses and a gaggle of people showed up Thursday evening to watch them be interviewed.
"People are not ashamed of us they are really excited this happened," said Ferrusi, whose grandfather is the former mayor of Hudson.
"We're all equal. I've always told my son, since he was little, to do what you believe. It's all in your heart and you are who you are. Just prove yourself and he (Charlie) has done this," gushed Charlie's proud mom, Kathryn Ferrusi.
Charlie and Timmy say all they did was be themselves. But they're so happy their classmates not only accept them but also support them.
Way to go, Hudson, New York! Hopefully, the New York legislature can learn something about equality from your youngsters.
“WBC will picket the graduation of Itawamba Agricultural High School to remind the parents, teachers and students of this nation that God said 'Thou shall not lie with mankind, as with womankind, it is abomination,'” the church said in announcing the protest.
“This generation has been raised to believe that they can live for the devil and still go to heaven, that God has no standards and the biggest lie of all – that God loves everyone.”
“The parents of Fulton, MS feign outrage that a filthy dyke wants to parade her 'girlfriend' around at their night of fornication called a prom,” the church added. “They had a duty to teach their children what the Lord requires of them. They shirked this duty.”
The Topeka, Kansas-based church, which is made up mostly of family members, came to national attention when they started picketing the funeral processions of soldiers killed during the war in Iraq. Fred Phelps, who helms the church, believes dead soldiers returning from Iraq are God's punishment for American support of gay men and lesbians. Members of the church believe it is sinful not to speak out against being gay.
“But it's not you [gay men and lesbians] and your filth that is causing God's condign wrath to pour out unmixed and unmitigated on this rebellious nation,” Margie Phelps told On Top Magazine in 2008. “It's all of the pride and sin of doomed America; it's all the fag enablers, without which you would be back in the closet with your mouth shut, where you belong.”
This is hypocrisy, for it's illegal at the federal level for public schools to discriminate against students based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, or disability.
The religious right is fighting the Student Non-Discrimination Act. The Human Rights Campaign reported the following in letter sent out this morning:
This month, a group calling itself the "American College of Pediatricians" (a name clearly meant to be confused with the reputable American Academy of Pediatrics) sent a letter masquerading as a scientific resource to every public school superintendent in the U.S. – telling them LGBT youth can, and should, change their sexual orientation and gender identity.
Without a federal law, school administrators will continue to decide who to expel or suspend for not fitting in. And unchecked discrimination can lead to violence and suicide. These kids need our help.
Constance McMillen did attend her school’s prom Friday night, although many of her classmates partied at an alternate event in Itawamba County.
McMillen went to the Itawamba Agricultural High School prom at the Fulton Country Club, but she was one of the few to attend the event. McMillen said she arrived at the dance an hour-and-a-half after it began and stayed for about 30 minutes. She said she saw six other students and several school officials while she was there.
Meanwhile, many more Itawamba AHS students went to an event held at the community center in Evergreen, another community in Itawamba County. McMillen said she knew about that event but that when she asked another student if she was invited, the student told her, “the prom is at the country club.”
“I took that as no,” McMillen said. “If I wasn’t wanted there, I wasn’t going to go.”
At a hearing on a preliminary injunction filed by the ACLU, Senior U.S. District Judge Glen H. Davidson ruled that the district had violated McMillen’s First Amendment rights but that it shouldn’t be forced to sponsor a prom since a group of parents had already agreed to hold an event that would be “open to all IAHS students.”
Last Monday night, those parents announced they would no longer host that prom. On Tuesday afternoon, school district attorney Michele Floyd said a private prom would be held at the Fulton Country Club, although the exact sponsorship of that event remains a mystery.
Kristy Bennett, legal director for the ACLU of Mississippi, said her organization was still gathering details about what happened Friday night to determine whether they would ask Davidson for sanctions.
Thank you prom-canceling parents for taking your children back fifty-six years into the pre-Brown v. Board of Education Topeka era and teaching segregation. You are true bigots and hypocrites and I hope you have your day in court.
Bleckley County High's Teacher of the Year is none other than Mr. Martin, every one's favorite math teacher and a father who threw his son out on the street because it became known that his son was going to prom with a boy. Mr. Martin is a role model for the Christian youth of Bleckley County High and they are following his witness.
A small group of Bleckley County High School students staged a rally at the courthouse Thursday evening to protest their high school allowing a gay student to take his boyfriend to the prom. “We knew Derrick was gay,” said Keith Bowman Jr., a high school senior who showed up at the rally. “They don’t want (Cochran) to be known as a pro gay town.” Most of the dozen attending the rally said they weren’t bothered by Martin being gay or being allowed to attend prom with his partner. But they said the school system’s decision has brought too much attention to their small town.
Thus, the connection to Don't Ask, Don't Tell. We know you're gay, but just don't talk about it. Pretend to be straight. Sacrifice your integrity for our god and for our version of country. We don't want to be known as a homo-loving military, like the Netherlands. Look where it got them.
And they say that kids today don't learn from the examples of their elders.
“People who don’t know the area will think it reflects on everybody,” said John Smith, a grandfather who owns an air-conditioning business in Cochran. Before he stopped by the rally, he asked county officials Thursday if a separate prom could be held at the city’s recreation center, he said.
Go stick your head in AC unit, Mr. Smith, and turn the unit up to maximum blow.
The rally’s organizer, Amber Duskin, sent text messages to high school students Wednesday asking them to show up. The senior said she asked her high school to return her prom ticket money and does not plan to attend because of Martin. “I don’t believe in going up there and dancing with gay guys like that,” she said. “It’s also not just him bringing a boy. It was bringing all this attention to it.”
Amber, not to burst your bubble, but you don't "believe" in dancing amidst gay guys. Have you not read your Old Testament? David was bi and, in his youth, had a boyfriend named Jonathan, who was killed before they could attend the prom.
More precious than love for women? It seems pretty clear. And if singing a gay love song wasn't enough, David also had a thing for dancing. He danced with abandon (how gay is that?) before the Ark of the Covenant, girt with only an apron, which is pretty close to rave-party naked. (2 Sam 13-16)
So, Amber, gay love was good enough for the great King David, but it's not for you.
A group of college students also stopped by the rally but not to protest.“We’re for it,” said Carly Nobles, a Middle Georgia College student. “It takes a lot for someone to come out (as gay). “This is a small town. Some of these students are sheltered, and I don’t think they can think for themselves.”
Way to go college-educated students! It's amazing what a little bit of education can do for people. I wonder if seperate-but-equal-proms granddaddy has a college degree.
Martin said talk at school Thursday was that the prom committee may do away with the traditional “walk through” when students and their dates are announced as they enter the prom.
The parents of 18-year-old Derrick Martin, the Georgia student who fought to bring his boyfriend to the prom, have kicked him out of the house, the Macon, Georgia-based website macon.com reported. Martin requested approval to bring his same-sex date to the April 17 prom dance in January. Bleckley County High School requires approval in advance for bringing a prom date that is not a student enrolled in the county. The school's decision to allow Martin to bring his boyfriend to the prom and the ensuing media attention resulted in Martin's ouster from his house. He is reportedly staying with a friend.
The school board is allowing Martin to attend with his boyfriend, but not because they endorses his "practice" or "lifestyle." (See embedded video below.)
I hate that kind of language. I have a life, not a lifestyle. I don't practice homosexuality, unless every straight person out there "practices" their heterosexuality. This type of language is homophobic and gaycist. It carries a demeaning religious subtext and wreaks of outdated and scientifically disproved psychobabble.
US District Court judge ruled yesterday that an Itawamba County, Mississippi, school board infringed upon a high school student Constance McMillan's First Amendment rights when it denied her attendance to the prom because she wanted to wear a tuxedo and attend with her girlfriend.
Here's a video of Derrick Martin speaking about his experience.
