Stacy Dawson Rented A Tux, Asked His Boyfriend, and Filed A Lawsuit .... Just To Be Able To Go To Prom

It started out like this: Stacy Dawson attends high school in the Scott County Central School District in Missouri, and he’s gay. Well, that’s not quite the issue, at least until Stacy asked to bring his boyfriend to the prom, and district officials pointed him toward the district handbook where it states:  "High School students will be permitted to invite one guest, girls invite boys and boys invite girls."

Too bad for Stacy Dawson, and his boyfriend.

"I was really shocked, and it was really depressing," said Dawson. "The school board says since it was in the handbook it could be awhile before it was changed, and I probably would not be able to bring my date."—Stacy Dawson.

Except Stacy wasn’t having it, and he contacted the Southern Poverty Law Center [SPLC] and a staff attorney, Alesdair Ittelson, got involved. Yes, in 2013 America, a young man who wants to bring a boy to the prom has to threaten a lawsuit to do so. 

Ittelson sent a letter to Scott County Central School District Officials requesting them to change the handbook because it "tells LGBT students that they don't deserve the same rights as their heterosexual peers, and that's not right and that's not constitutional" and he gave them until 5 p.m. on February 25, 2013 to change the policy, or face a lawsuit.

So a boy can dance with a boy at a prom.

I understand that there are people who think its offensive, although it isn't; it's dancing. And I know that there are people who say it's against the Bible; it isn't, it's dancing. But, why? Why tell a young man that he has to threaten to sue someone just for the right to bring the person he chooses to prom? Last week we had the story of the school in Indiana that took this kind of discrimination one step further and tried to simply ban The Gays from the prom altogether, or, failing that, have a Straights Only Prom. But to sue, to have to be forced to sue, so you can dance with your boyfriend. This cannot be America in 2013; this cannot still be happening.

And, luckily, it didn't.

After first saying the school board would not revise their homophobic handbook, and, of course, with the threat of a lawsuit aimed at them, the district decided they would, and they could, remove that offensive line from the handbook, although they backtracked somewhat—in an effort to save face, no doubt—and said the line was never meant to be exclusive in the first place.

Alvin McFerren, Scott County Central School District superintendent: "I found out why the stipulation in the student handbook was originally put in there, and it's rather innocent, to be honest. This was during a time 10-15 years ago that the previous administration was having issues with some of the students trying to come in on either the single rate or the couple rate. They implemented that to make sure they couldn't circumvent the rates that students were supposed to pay as they entered into our dances."

Nice try, but then the line might have said 'couples' rather than girls invite boys and boys invite girls. But, I guess that’s neither here nor there, because what matters most, to the LGBT community and its allies, is that Stacy Dawson will be able to dance with his boyfriend at the prom.

See, it’s not that such a big deal after all. I mean, I can see not allowing people who can't dance from attending, but everyone knows The Gays rule the dance floor, and I'm certain Stacy and his boyfriend will show up everyone there.

And everyone, gay and straight, will have a good time.

Teen Can't Bring Date To Prom

Teen Wins Right To Attend Prom With His Boyfriend