News (USA)

Lesbian teen banned from prom will lead NYC pride parade

Lesbian teen banned from prom will lead NYC pride parade
McMillen

Constance McMillen did not get to attend her high school prom after her Mississippi high school canceled it rather than allow her to bring her girlfriend.

But she will be an honored guest at an even bigger celebration: she has been named a grand marshal of the gay pride parade in New York, the NY Times reports.

McMillen, a senior at Itawamba Agricultural High School in Fulton, Miss. who has been out as a lesbian since eighth grade, had planned to take her girlfriend to the prom but was told by the school that she could go alone or with a male date but not with a female date.

When McMillen, 18, sought the help of the ACLU, the school responded by canceling to prom.

She went to federal court, and a judge ruled the district had violated her civil rights, but he did not order the district to hold the prom, because a parent-sponsored event was being scheduled away from the school.

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