Boy punished for talking about gay mom

LAFAYETTE, Louisiana (AP) -- A 7-year-old boy was scolded and forced to write "I will never use the word 'gay' in school again" after he told a classmate about his lesbian mother, the American Civil Liberties Union alleged Monday.

Second-grader Marcus McLaurin was waiting for recess November 11 at Ernest Gaullet Elementary School when a classmate asked about Marcus' mother and father, the ACLU said in a complaint.

Marcus responded he had two mothers because his mother is gay. When the other child asked for explanation, Marcus told him: "Gay is when a girl likes another girl," according to the complaint.

A teacher who heard the remark scolded Marcus, telling him "gay" was a "bad word" and sending him to the principal's office. The following week, Marcus had to come to school early and repeatedly write: "I will never use the word 'gay' in school again."

A phone message left for Lafayette Parish schools superintendent James Easton was not immediately returned.

The ACLU is demanding the case be removed from Marcus' file and that the school apologize to the boy and his mother, Sharon Huff.

"I was concerned when the assistant principal called and told me my son had said a word so bad that he didn't want to repeat it over the phone," Huff said. "But that was nothing compared to the shock I felt when my little boy came home and told me that his teacher had told him his family is a dirty word."

http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/South/12/01/gay.mother.ap/index.html

I know it's still unacceptable to many people...but a "bad word"? Come on now. What a piece of shit teacher.

That's fucking awful. Not only the teacher, but the assistant principal, too. That poor little boy. Not to mention his mom(s).

This sounds more like history class than current events.

If it were me in this situation, I would not be satisfied until the teacher and principal both repeatedly wrote something along the lines of: "I will not be a tight-assed, closed minded, homophobe".

10 pts for the best mental picture all day
if they had to fill every chalckboard in the school.


[Edited on Dec 01, 2003 by sunburntkamel]

The best mental picture is that asshole assistant principal shaking with fear at the prospect of saying the word "Gay" . . . to a gay woman!

yeah - the whole thing is instant classic.
my grandkids are gonna read about that in third grade

Wait, are they saying that he shouldn't say "gay" because being gay is bad, or because they find the word distasteful? I mean, would they have had the same problem if he had said "lesbian"?

I'm just curious, because sometimes it can be really tough for people who aren't exposed much to keep track of what groups want to be called and what they take offense to.

fucking A! I love hearing when kids are comfy enough to say thier mother likes girls.

I can't say I would have been secure enough to just bring it up in school.

Yeah, there aren't any dumb ass bigots anywhere else...

So when I read that I thought it was an example of political correctness run amok, and everyone else thinks it's homophobia.

Maybe it's just that at my school "gay" was used in a non-derogatory way, umm....never, so it wouldn't have been so bad if the teachers had punished people for saying it instead of agreeing and quoting Leviticus in fucking Lit class!!!

Some people.... =(

Hm, that's what I thought to. But maybe she's just a homophobic dumbass...meh.

This makes me and .

But these things are slowly (too slowly) improving.. it takes people making a stand on issues like this for real change to occur.

Man, that's so gay.

My whole family is from rural Pennsylvania, and I can tell you, homophobia is definitely NOT confined to just the South.

Reminds me of the Family Guy:

Brian: Amazing Peter, you can barely drive a car but you're allowed to fly a blimp.
Peter: Yeah, America's great isn't it? Except for the South.

indeed.

Oh thank you. I was waiting for someone to say that.

I don't know what's wrong with this gay is a bad word, isn't it? Like when I am having a good time with my friends and I say, "I feel so gay right now" its the same as saying, "I feels so fucked right now, or "I feel so motherfucker right now."

btw, I feel so motherfucker right now.

Amen...i just got done ranting about the dumb bastards who live anywhere outside a 50 mile radius of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh (well 30 in Pittsburgh's case).