Big few days.

SEC sues Goldman Sachs for fraud. Volcanic cloud from Iceland invades Europe. And, most depressing, a gay couple in Sonoma County is royally, completely, heartbreakingly fucked over.

So not cool news flash: school cancels prom because lesbian wants to bring date

From USA Today, via Dan Savage (plus I saw this on mute during breakfast this morning):

A Mississippi county school board announced Wednesday it would cancel its upcoming prom after a gay student petitioned to bring a same-sex date to the event.

I hope this girl stays safe and the school reconsiders its decision. This is some messed up shit, Mississippi. Get your heads on straight.

The man has a point

From Dan Savage on The Stranger's blog, Slog:

"A Catholic school in Colorado is kicking out a preschooler because the child's parents are lesbians. The child also will not be allowed to re-enroll next year at Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic School. The Denver Archdiocese posted a statement Friday saying the parents are "living in open discord with Catholic teaching." The statement says students in Catholic schools are expected to have parents who abide by church and school policies. The archdiocese said students with gay parents in Catholic schools would become confused."

"No doubt the school has already kicked out all the kids whose straight parents are 'living in discord with Catholic teaching' by having divorced and remarried or who've used birth control or who haven't been to mass lately. Right? Hello?"

I voted!

Today I did my civic duty for the first time. (In my defense, I was thoroughly disenfranchised in 2004 when Miami-Dade County conveniently forgot to mail me my absentee ballot despite 3 mailed requests and several irate telephone calls.) My voice has been heard--or will be, once I put this in the mail.

Hooray!

I also got to vote on Florida's constitutional amendments, including the Florida Marriage Protection Amendment:

This amendment protects marriage as the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife and provides that no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized.

It seems like the amendment bans not only "gay marriage" but also civil unions that grant 100% equivalent rights. Can that be right?? Good grief, Florida--why?! Now you're just being mean.

UPDATE: My momma says this gender-neutral ban actually will affect a surprising constituency: elderly people in relationships that started late in life, who don't want to jump through hoops to get legally married. Domestic partnerships between straight couples suffer too.

Putting the FHAA aside for some savage loving

Now that Savage Love is finally (can you tell I've been waiting?) up on the Village Voice, I got to take a break from writing my brief to read three letters that just tugged at my heartstrings. This week the advice guru printed two letters from teenagers, one who had come out to massive bigotry, and the other who had been forced back into the closet by his parents. They're so, so, so sad, and while Dan's advice is great, I imagine it's cold comfort to teenagers for whom every day feels like a year. (If they're anything like the rest of us, things that seem like a huge deal to them now will be viewed with complete scorn in 10 years.) But it's not all bad: the last letter was from two kids who had wonderful, supportive, loving coming-out experiences, and they wrote to thank everyone who came out before them for paving the way. Hopefully one day none of the letters will be miserable, or there won't be a need to write any letters at all.

The column is here, for whenever you're ready for a good cry.