A US school in northern Alabama has decided to cancel the school prom rather than allow a lesbian couple to attend.
Cynthia Stewart, a 17 year old openly lesbian student at Tharptown High School, was barred by the school principal from taking her girlfriend to the event.
According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Stewart was also made to remove a sticker she was wearing which read, “I am a lesbian,” the principal telling her, “You don’t have that much freedom of speech at school.”
When Stewart, who is a member of the prom planning committee, and her family pursued the matter the school choose to cancel the dance entirely. The principal’s decision was supported by the school board.
On Tuesday, the ACLU said that it had contacted the school and demanded that officials let Stewart bring her girlfriend to the prom and refrain from further violating her rights.
