News
My Mom Is A Lesbian Carpet Licker!
Published: Dec 02, 2003 - 11:07 PM
LAFAYETTE -- The ACLU on Monday criticized a Lafayette Parish school because a teacher scolded a 7-year-old boy for explaining to a classmate that his mother is gay. "The censorship and discrimination in which you have engaged not only disregard the fundamental guarantees of the Constitution but also undermine the educational mission of your school," wrote Ken Choe, staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union's Lesbian and Gay Rights Project, in a letter to Ernest Gallet Elementary Principal Virginia Bonvillain.
According to the ACLU, the 7-year-old student was scolded Nov. 11 by a teacher in front of his classmates. Waiting in line for recess, the ACLU said, the boy was asked about his mother and father by a classmate.
The boy answered that he has two mothers. When asked why, the ACLU said, the 7-year-old told his classmate that his mother is gay. The 7-year-old explained that gay "is when a girl likes another girl."
The teacher told the boy that "gay" is a bad word that shouldn't be said in school. The following week, the boy was required to attend an early-morning behavioral clinic. The ACLU said the boy was forced to write "I will never use the word 'gay' in school again."
Choe's letter asks the school to remove the incident from the boy's disciplinary record, refrain from restricting his speech in the future, and apologize to the boy's mother. The ACLU said an assistant principal called the mother and told her the boy had said a word so bad that he didn't want to repeat it over the phone.
No response from the school was immediately available.
The boy answered that he has two mothers. When asked why, the ACLU said, the 7-year-old told his classmate that his mother is gay. The 7-year-old explained that gay "is when a girl likes another girl."
The teacher told the boy that "gay" is a bad word that shouldn't be said in school. The following week, the boy was required to attend an early-morning behavioral clinic. The ACLU said the boy was forced to write "I will never use the word 'gay' in school again."
Choe's letter asks the school to remove the incident from the boy's disciplinary record, refrain from restricting his speech in the future, and apologize to the boy's mother. The ACLU said an assistant principal called the mother and told her the boy had said a word so bad that he didn't want to repeat it over the phone.
No response from the school was immediately available.
