school principal. The principal wanted to know the names of
students who were couples – heterosexual and homosexual – because
she was concerned about public displays of affection.
She posted the entire list of students in public, which outed two
boys who were attempting to keep their sexuality private. All
student relationships were revealed to other students, teachers and
their parents.
Andrew and Nicholas had just started dating.
According to
MyEyewitnessNews.com:
“Nicholas says his teachers and other students treat him
differently as a result of Principal Beasley’s decision and that he
and Andrew have both had to deal with verbal assaults. Nicholas was
also not allowed to go on a trip to New Orleans to help rebuild
homes because, as one of his teacher’s explained, he would
“embarrass” the school by engaging in gay affection.
‘I really feel that my personal privacy was invaded,’ Nicholas
says. ‘I mean, Principal Beasley called my mother and outed me to
my mother!'”
Furthermore, reporter Joyce Peterson writes, “The ACLU wants the
school district to create new policies that would prevent these
types of acts from happening again. The group is also asking for
compensation for Andrew and Nicholas and for an apology from the
principal.”
ACLU attorney Christine Sun says, “Our first reaction was wow, this
is unbelievable that a principal has gone this far. The
constitution protects all of us from the government intruding in
our private lives when there isn’t a reason to do that. This was
morally and legally wrong.”
Gay rights advocates plan to attend the next Memphis School
Board meeting.
[Crossposted at ProudParenting.com]