Mississippi high school prom bans same-sex guests

A high school in Mississippi, USA, has come under fire for banning same-sex guests to the annual prom.

Paperwork sent out by Tremont Attendance Center earlier this month detailed guests ‘must be 10th grade-21 years old and of the opposite sex’.

‘This is a night set aside to honor and celebrate our Juniors and Seniors and will be treated as such’, the form details in the same paragraph.

But, according to local news, organizers said the rule was meant for ‘crowd control’.

A parent involved in organizing the prom said the language had nothing to do with ‘sexual preference’.

They reportedly apologized for any hardship that language may have caused.

Meanwhile, the local school authority said a teacher is being investigated for authorizing the original form, according to WTVA.

The district authority said the prom was organized by parents.

History repeated

A Mississippi school in the same district made headlines in 2010 when it banned Constance McMillen from taking her girlfriend.

McMillen sued the district with help from American Civil Liberties Union. She won, and the prom was canceled.

After a lengthy lawsuit, the school was later ordered to pay $35,000 in damages to McMillen.

Parents organized a prom at a private country club and did not invite McMillen.

In Missouri, gay teen Stacey Dawson was told he hoped to take his boyfriend as his senior prom date.

It was only after a legal challenge that the school’s superintendent reportedly agreed to revise the policy banning same-sex prom dates.