Round-Up: Nation’s LGBT youth taking a stand and fighting back

This year, we’ve seen a BOOM in court cases and headline news stories regarding our LGBT youth’s efforts to get their voices heard. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never been prouder and more inspired.

Although many of the cases involve actions against our youth that I’d rather have never known them to have to face, I am so glad to see that many of them are rising to the challenge of facing down hate and discrimination. Kudos to the ACLU, GLSEN, and PFLAG for doing a bang-up job of supporting their actions!

Here are a few of the latest cases for our review, action, and consideration:

Lesbian teen left out of high school yearbook

Ceara Sturgis, a student at Wesson Attendance Center located in Mississippi (home to the school district that canceled Constance McMillan’s high school prom because she wanted to bring a girl), was surprised recently when she opened her yearbook to find — nothing.

Not a photo, not a name, not a mention of a single one of her accomplishments.

The reason?

She wanted her high school yearbook photo to be taken in a tuxedo, not a dress. The school board balked, she continued to press, in the end they simply omitted her completely from the publication at all.

Even more shocking, they’d rather print the high school drop-outs and juvenile offenders. [SOURCE]

Openly gay students in Tennessee fight for their rights

“I Love Lady Gay-Gay” — a simple shirt stating a simple message, and surprisingly non-sexual and non-violent in nature considering several other t-shirts our high schoolers are seen wearing these days.

Yet, administrators at Tennessee’s Greenbrier High School didn’t see it that way. They saw it as a distraction, and forced Cole Goforth to surrender the shirt. They said that shirts with disruptive pro-gay messages were not allowed, and claimed to only be looking out for Goforth’s safety, as such message might provoke more bullying.

Goforth’s reaction?

A phone call to the ACLU of Tennessee. [SOURCE]

Charges against teens accused of trying to kill classmate reduced

Two Kentucky teens, along with a third who’s charges remain unclear, originally accused of the attempted murder of their lesbian classmate, now face fourth-degree assault and menacing, both misdemeanors.

Cheyenne Williams, the alleged victim in the case, accused the trio of girls of taking her to a Flat Lake Falls and threatening to push her over a cliff. Williams testified the four had been friends for years and when the other girls brought up the idea of killing her, she thought they were joking.

Attorneys for the three accused teens said the story is not true, nor is it plausible. The attorneys said the girls could not have forced Williams into the car because she is heavier than they are. They also questioned why Williams waited three days before reporting the incident. [SOURCE]