Last night, WAAY 31 News brought you the story of Cynthia Stewart. She's a senior at Tharptown High School in Franklin County and was looking forward to brining her girlfriend with her to the prom this spring. However, she was told by the school's principal that she could not come with her planned date.
Stewart was upset, especially since she was on the prom committee before she got the news. "After our first meeting I asked one of my sponsors if they thought it would be ok if I wore a tux and I brought my girlfriend and she told me she didn't know but she would talk to my principal."
When she asked the principal why she couldn't bring her girlfriend, she says he told her that he didn't want to run the risk of offending other students. "It upsets me because I have the same rights as everybody else and just because I have a different preference then the rest of the kids doesn't mean that I shouldn't bring who I want to."
Once Cynthia's family members found out what was going on they contacted school officials and eventually an attorney. ACLU attorney Hank Sherrod told WAAY 31 "Cynthia has as much right as her straight classmates to take her girlfriend to the prom as they can take their boyfriends and girlfriends."
After this story first aired, we asked for your thoughts on whether the school was right to bar Cynthia from the prom. Here is a sample of what you had to say in phone calls and e-mails :
"I think that denying a prom because of a student's orientation is absurd, both to the student(s) who are gay and to the entire student body. The prom should be allowed and the gay students should be welcomed." - Nancy in Florence via e-mail
"I think they should be banned from going to the proms. All the people who "choose" to be that way are always saying that they are being discriminated, Well it also offends me that people are that way. God created a man and woman for a reason..not a man for man..or a woman for a woman. They should be banned and go have their own "gay prom" and leave everyone else out of it!" - Teri via e-mail
"It's for everyone to have fun so why should she be discriminated against because she likes girls? And doesn't like a guy, so I definitely don't agree and I hope they do what's best for this young lady because it is her prom." Katrina in Huntsville via hotline
"Yes, gay and lesbian students should have a right to attend their prom, even in poor backward podunk Alabama. This is 2009!" - Mark via e-mail
"It is a shame that in this day and time people cannot accept someone else because of their sexual orientation. This is not a decision to be made by anyone else. Gay and Lesbian couples have as much a right to attend a high school prom as any other couple. When will the South finally get over the bigotry and bias of others? Or maybe the real question is, will it ever?" - Grady via e-mail
"The issue in question is that the girl said she could not go to the prom, when in fact she was told she could come & wear a tux but she could not bring a female companion. I agree with that. The opportunity is there for her to go, but there should be rules not just for her but for all. I feel like she is doing this for attention and to get on TV news. If she really wanted to bring a girl with her, why not just propose to bring one as a friend instead of stirring up an issue about gay rights. Regardless of what some people think, I think being gay is wrong. It is not normal behavior, but it is her right as an American citizen to be that way, but don't force it on others who do not agree with it." - "Concerned Parent" via e-mail
"Nobody has brought up the fact that being gay or lesbian is a sin. That is what's wrong with our school system and the community in whole today, no one is speaking out against sin." - Melissa in Athens via hotline
"The School system did the right thing by denying a lesbian student the chance to go to the school prom with her girlfriend. Keep up the good work." Jimmy via e-mail
"It is time for Alabama to realize that it is almost 2010, not 1950. As part of the LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans gender, and Queer) community myself, I am appalled at this! What kind of message of intolerance is this sending to the youth of this country? This is no different than discriminating against someone due to their race, wealth, etc. The school system should be ashamed of themselves!!" Danny in Decatur via e-mail
"In my opinion, this is a violation of Cynthia’s constitutional rights. Last time I checked the prom had nothing to do with sexual orientation. As far as the issue of gay and lesbian rights are concerned, all citizens of this country should be entitled to equal rights." Chris at UAH via e-mail
This is just a sampling of the dozens of calls and emails we received. Thanks for all your responses.
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