Would-Be Lesbian Prom Date Has Friends In ACLU, Roger Ebert

The Mississippi student whose prom was canceled in response to her request to bring her girlfriend is back at school today. She’s gotten some dirty looks, but also support — from none other than Roger Ebert!

Eighteen-year-old Constance McMillen asked Itawamba County Agricultural High School beforehand if she could wear a tux and bring her girlfriend Minerva to the April 2 prom. When the school said no, the ACLU gave it a deadline of Wednesday to change its policy against same-sex dates. The school responded by canceling the entire prom, which McMillen called “retaliation” because “a bunch of kids at school are really going to hate me for this.”

Indeed, when she returned to school — reluctantly, and at the behest of her father — she did receive some “unfriendly looks.” She tells the AP that one student said, “Thanks for ruining my senior year.” But McMillen isn’t alone. The ACLU has filed a federal complaint “asking the court to reinstate the prom for all students at the school and charging Itawamba County School District officials with violating Constance McMillen’s First Amendment right to freedom of expression.” Roger Ebert, who basically just keeps getting more awesome, drew attention to her case on Twitter, writing, “It’s okay if girls go to a prom together because they can’t get dates, but god forbid if they like each other.” And BuzzFeed has an email address readers can use to tell the school board to “let Constance take her girlfriend to prom!” That would be [email protected] — feel free to drop them a line if you, like Ebert, the ACLU, and us, are on Team Constance.

Update: Several people have gotten email bounces from the above address. A different address can be found here.

Image via ACLU.

Lesbian Teen Back At Miss. School After Prom Flap [AP, via Breitbart]
The Great Lesbian Prom Date Threat [Time Swampland Blog]
Let Constance Take Her Girlfriend To Prom! [BuzzFeed]
Roger Ebert [Twitter]