Marc Hall and his partner, Jean Paul Drummond, attend a gay-rights event on Parliament Hill on April 11, 2002.FRED CHARTRAND
It's amazing to me how history repeats itself over and over again in different jurisdictions.
Take, for instance, this week's brouhaha in Mississippi. A gay teen is suing the school system to allow her to bring her same-sex date to the prom.
This is pretty much exactly the same story Ontario residents might remember from 2002, when a gay teen sued the school system to allow him to bring his same-sex date to the prom.
The main difference in the two cases? Rather than just bar the date from the prom, the school district took the proactive action of cancelling the entire event for fear of students being exposed to same-gender romance. In the Ontario example, the board wasn't as heavy handed at the first, and a court injunction later blocked the board from such actions.
Despite the eight-year lag in social progress, living in the Southern United States does have advantages over Ontario. A New Orleans hotel owner has offered to host a make-up prom for the students.
Enjoy your prom in the Big Easy, Ms. McMillan plus one.
(Photo: Marc Hall sued his school when it barred him from bringing Jean Paul Drummond to his prom. Fred Chartrand/The Canadian Press)