The American Civil Liberties Union took up the case of a Florida lesbian high school senior and a peaceful protest for gay tolerance resulting in her principal being demoted.
Principle David Davis outed the teen to her parents and ordered her to stay away from children after she told him students were taunting her for being gay. He also let her know that he believed her sexual orientation was wrong.
The girl's friends who stood by her wearing gay pride T-shirts and buttons at Ponce de Leon High School faced suspension according to court records. Davis also asked dozens of students if they were gay or associated with gay students.
When the American Civil Liberties Union took up the teen's case they had to deal with a school administer on a "witch hunt" when it came to gay students. A federal judge ruling in the case ordered Davis to be demoted and that school employees take part in sensitivity training.
Still there are those in the Florida Panhandle town that are confused to what Davis did that was wrong. After all the community is in the Bible Belt were the bible rules with an iron fist.
Ponce de Leon High School sits in Holmes County right on the Georgia border. Ponce de Leon, Florida has less than 500 residents.
In a
MSNBC report Steve Griffin explains his community:
"We are a small, rural district in the Bible Belt with strong Christian beliefs and feel like homosexuality is wrong," said Steve Griffin, Holmes County's school superintendent, who keeps a Bible on his desk and framed Scriptures on his office walls.
There are many in this small community where most are employed by the local prisons or schools that support Davis. They believe that outsiders are forcing their beliefs on their way of life. Griffin had to demote Davis but the former principle is still teaching at the school Griffin says that the teens in his district aren't exposed to the kind of things that city kids deal with.
"I don't think we are that different from a lot of districts, at least in the Panhandle, that have beliefs that maybe are different from societal changes," Griffin said.
The young girl known only as "Jane Doe" in court records was admonished by the former principle. When other students heard how Davis treated the teen they put on gay pride shirts and rainbow-coloured clothing to protest. Davis then started questioning those students about their own sexuality.
"Davis embarked on what can only be characterized as a 'witch hunt' to identify students who were homosexual and their supporters, further adding fuel to the fire," U.S. District Judge Richard Smoak recounted in his ruling. "He went so far as to lift the shirts of female students to insure the letters 'GP' or the words 'Gay Pride' were not written on their bodies."
The ACLU was called into action by Ardena Gillman, the mother of Heather Gillman. Heather took part in the protests. Ardena, mother of three, works as a corrections officer knew that other parents may become angry with her call. Still she had to support her daughter's cause and wanted to help protect the students' freedom of speech.
"I just felt like I had to stand up for the kids. Heather wanted to do this, and I had to back her," she said.
Students have a constitutional right for peaceful protests, such as the wearing of a T-shirt that states their beliefs.
"I think a shirt that says 'I support gays' is very different from a shirt that says 'Gays are going to hell,'" said Benjamin Stevenson, an ACLU attorney. "One can be very disruptive for a child's self-esteem; the other supports other people and their ideas."
In January the ACLU sued the school district. This summer Judge Smoak ruled that Davis had indeed violated Heather Gillman's rights.
"I emphasize that Davis's personal and religious views about homosexuality are not issues in this case. Indeed, Davis's opinions and views are consistent with the beliefs of many in Holmes County, in Florida, and in the country," Smoak wrote in an opinion released last month. "Where Davis went wrong was when he endeavored to silence the opinions of his dissenters."
The lawsuit has not made for a happy community. Many believe that Davis is a hero. The Gillman's have been accused of trying to bankrupt the school district because it has to pay $325,000 in lawyer fees.
The community shows the division between the young who have learned tolerance of others and the elders who cling to a different era.
"David Davis is a fine man and good principal, and we are a gentle, peaceful, Christian, family-oriented community," said Bill Griffin, 73 and a lifelong Ponce de Leon resident who is no relation to the district superintendent. "We aren't out to tar and feather anyone."
