Lesbian Gets $35K Settlement Over Canceled Prom!!!

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - A rural school district that canceled its prom rather than allow a lesbian student to attend with her girlfriend has agreed to pay $35,000 to settle a discrimination lawsuit the ACLU filed on her behalf. Constance McMillen, 18, said the victory came at the price of her being shunned in her small hometown of Fulton.

"I knew it was a good cause, but sometimes it really got to me. I knew it would change things for others in the future and I kept going and I kept pushing," McMillen said in an interview Tuesday. The flap started in March when McMillen challenged the Itawamba County School District's rules banning prom dates of the same gender and allowing only male students to wear tuxedos. The district responded by canceling its prom, prompting the ACLU to file suit claiming the teen's rights had been violated and demanding the prom be reinstated.

The ACLU, however, contends that if the district really had such an inclusiveness policy all along, it wouldn't have banned same-sex prom dates. It also said the district is the first in Mississippi to implement a policy banning discrimination and harassment on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Christine P. Sun, an ACLU lawyer, said the case has "inspired countless other people around the world to stand up for what's right."

McMillen has moved to Memphis, Tenn., where she plans to attend Southwest Community College in the spring, majoring in psychology. She said she'll use the settlement money for her college education.

She eventually withdrew from Itawamba Agricultural High School and finished her senior year at a school in Jackson, Miss.

McMillen's case gained national attention and she was featured on talk shows and served as a grand marshal for New York's Gay Pride Parade, among other events. She also visited the White House.

Don't Forget To Subscribe