MS lesbian teen’s rights violated
A federal judge ruled that a Mississippi school district violated a lesbian student’s rights by banning her from bringing her girlfriend to the prom. U.S. District Judge Glen H. Davidson refused to force the Itawamba County school district to put on the April 2 prom, but he said canceling it did violate 18-year-old Constance McMillen’s rights and that he would hold a trial on the issue. Davidson noted that McMillen has been openly gay since she was in the eighth grade, and her intention to communicate a message by wearing a tuxedo and escorting a same-sex date “falls squarely within the purview of the First Amendment.”
Chief: S.D. Police followed rules in Air Force sgt’s outing
Rapid City’s police chief Steve Allender said his officers followed department protocol when their outing of a lesbian Air Force sergeant led to her military discharge. Police said Sgt. Jene Newsome, a nine-year Air Force veteran, was not cooperative when officers showed up at her home in November with an arrest warrant for her wife. Officers spotted an Iowa marriage certificate on the kitchen table through a window and alerted the officials at the nearby Ellsworth Air Force Base, resulting in Newsome’s discharge.
