Joseph O. Patton: Don’t ask, don’t tell… at the prom?

  She simply wanted to attend prom with the person she loves.

  Itawamba County, Mississippi’s school district is canceling prom - not due to a lack of funding, security threats or any other tangible reason. They’re killing prom for the entire student body of the area because 17-year-old Constance McMillan wants to attend with her girlfriend, a fellow student.

  The ACLU has sued on McMillen’s behalf, but whether this prom ever takes place or not, the damage has been done.

  Sadly it’s indicative of a nation that is still plagued by narrow-mindedness and bigotry. After all, unless President Obama fulfills his promise to overturn it - and to date, he hasn’t - our federal government will continue to utilize institutionalized discrimination via its repressive and discriminatory “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. When our own central government openly exercises discriminatory policies, it shouldn’t surprise us when similar actions are executed at a lower level - even a high school prom.