SPLC threatens to sue Alabama school district for refusing to let gays attend prom, wear "gay" sweatshirts

From Tuscaloosa News:

The Tuscaloosa County Board of Education is facing a demand from the Southern Poverty Law Center that school system officials allow same-sex couples to attend school proms and respect the constitutional rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students, or face a federal lawsuit.

The Montgomery-based SPLC stated in a letter sent to the school system Wednesday that on Jan. 5, Brookwood High School Assistant Principal Thad Fitzpatrick asked Elizabeth Garrett, a 15-year-old 10th-grader at Brookwood, to remove her sweatshirt that displayed the words, “Warning, This Individual Infected With ‘The Gay,' Proceed With Caution.”

In its letter, the SPLC tells the Tuscaloosa County School System that it has until Feb. 1 to stop its alleged censorship of speech supportive of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and its prohibition against same-sex couples at the prom.

Wolfe said if the school system doesn't meet the SPLC's demands, it will be in violation of Garrett's First and Fourteenth Amendment rights and a lawsuit will be filed in federal court against the system seeking an injunction, damages and attorneys' fees.