Lawsuit Claim: Anything Gay Illegal In School

(Ponce De Leon, Florida) A Florida high school is "trampling the First Amendment rights of students who support equal rights for gay people", according to a federal lawsuit filed Thursday by the American Civil Liberties Union.

In its lawsuit, the ACLU describes what it calls an atmosphere of fear and censorship at Ponce de Leon High School, where the school board’s attorney allegedly has said that expressions like a rainbow sticker may mean students are members of an “illegal organization.”

"All any of us wants to do is be able to talk about gay rights issues without having to be scared," said Heather Gillman, a 16-year-old junior at the school.

http://www.365gay.com/Newscon08/01/013108school.htm

looking for the fountain of youth while dispersing the natives with his swords of death. You gotta figure the fruit grows from the seed. But hey, what's in a name?

...that "ponce" is mid-20th Century UK pejorative slang for an "effeminate" person. Someone would be called a "ponce" the same a person in the US would be called a "fag." So, in one sense, even the name of the town is a veiled anti-gay slur.

as a floridian (politics in florida is the curse of the great weather and beaches) i think i will look into this and fire off a letter to the editor over there in pdl. it won't get printed, but it will be worth it to expand their civic pride a little.

Here's a link to the Urban Dictionary with a bit more on the word:

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Ponce

It would certainly sound archaic these days, but most would understand its meaning. It's the sort of term that would have been used by detectives investigating cases of "indecency" in the 1950s.

I mean, crimeny! The things not disseminated by the mainstream media. :wow:

>>"Writing something like ‘I support gay rights’ on your notebook doesn’t mean you’re part of some secret conspiracy or shadowy organization," said Christine Sun, a staff attorney with the ACLU’s national Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Project.<<

It is sad that someone actually has to say this aloud. The queer kids and their supporters ought to pull the old prank of putting up fliers that say "Today is wear jeans if you support gay rights day" on the very day that is "designated," just to get the school district's goat.

It is great fun to do it when an undergrad and change it to "Wear khaki pants and a golf shirt or greek tee if you're gay" day. Then watch the fratboys run home to change clothes!

like

anarchists for oz

or

toto terrier terrorists

or

dorothy's dirty dozen porn club


oh, attorney for this school board: give me a fucking break!

Heck even the MS schools I worked in wouldn't have tried that.

n/t

a rainbow sticker may mean students are members of an “illegal organization.”

"All any of us wants to do is be able to talk about gay rights issues without having to be scared," said Heather Gillman, a 16-year-old junior at the school.

"Nobody should have to worry about being kicked out of school just for having a rainbow sticker on your notebook."

They're afraid of rainbow stickers now?

:grr: :mad: :wtf:

Likely to be disruptive? WTF is that all about? The students at Ponce de Leon HS who are GLBT should have every right to organize for support of each other. It's discriminatory, plain and simple.

Sure wish I could have had that at my HS years ago.

Edited to add: The students AND their supporters...