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Demand Kentucky School Apologize for Disciplining Child of Same-Sex Parents
Take action by Sunday, October 31, 2010
|
Targeting: Kirk Lattimore (Principal,
Crosby Middle School) and Angela Allen
(Assistant Principal, Crosby Middle
School)
Started by: Michael Jones
A 12-year-old child near Louisville, Kentucky
was
suspended from her bus for three days,
after complaining about homophobic language
from other students on the bus. The student,
the daughter of two lesbian moms, complained to
the bus driver about the homophobic language.
But when the bus driver found out the student
had two lesbian moms, the driver called the
student "a contradiction" and then subsequently
made her sit in silence at the back of the
bus.
In the wake of the incident, the student called
the bus driver a "jerk." Probably not the
smartest thing to do, but not necessarily all
that surprising given that the student was
responding to her parents being ridiculed. When
the Assistant Principal of the school found out
that the student called the bus driver a
"jerk," she responded by suspending this
student from the bus for three days -- all
because this student had the audacity to stand
up for her two lesbian moms.
Worse, the Assistant Principal in this
situation, Angela Allen, told the student's
mother that in the future, this student should
just ignore such homophobic talk, and grow
"thicker skin."
Sorry, but a bus driver and an Assistant
Principal are supposed to provide safe spaces
for their students; not spaces where they're
forced to sit in silence while students and
school officials can make fun of one's same-sex
parents.
Take action now. The Kentucky Equality
Federation is calling on the school involved to
issue an apology for how they handled this
case, and are calling for the bus driver at the
heart of the controversy to be reassigned to a
different route. Because right now, this
12-year-old student does not feel safe riding
the bus, knowing that the bus driver has no
interest in protecting her safety.
For more information on this, check out the
Kentucky Equality Federation's write
up here.
Take Action:
The LGBTI community of the Commonwealth must stand united against prejudice and hate!