Constance McMillen wins $35k from school system over canceled prom

Lesbian teen Constance McMillen who fought for and won the right to attend her senior prom with her girlfriend, only to be duped into attending a fake prom by the bigoted rednecks in her home town, has won a settlement of $35,000 in her discrimination lawsuit against the Itawamba County School District.

The Huffington Post reports:
The district also agreed to follow a non-discrimination policy as part of the settlement, though it argues such a policy was already in place. 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 Mississippi teen received worldwide attention for her battle against bigotry in her small southern home town. She also became an inspiration and rallying point for a community battered by defeats in marriage equality and who have been continually thrown under the bus by Democrats in general and President Obama in particular.

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Gay Teen Can Bring Boyfriend to Prom, Parents Kick Him Out (video)

In January of this year, Georgia high school senior, Derrick Martin started lobbying his school for permission to attend his prom with his boyfriend. The school initially turned down his request, but later changed it's decision in the wake of the ruling in the federal court case of Mississippi teen Constance McMillen. The courts found last week that McMillen's school violated her free speech rights by not allowing her to attend her prom with her girlfriend.

The downside in the case of Derrick Martin is that his parents have thrown him out of his home in the wake of nationwide attention to the case. According to the Macon Telegraph, Martin is currently staying with a friend. His school has no plans to cancel the prom or take any further actions in the case.

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• Lesbian Prom Date Ban VIOLATED Constance McMillen's Rights, Judge Says (huffingtonpost.com)