After fighting
for the rights of her gay and lesbian peers, a senior
at a Florida high school has been honored by the Playboy
Foundation with the Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment
Award.
Heather Gillman
won a First Amendment case against the Ponce de Leon High
School -- located in Florida's panhandle -- after her
principal banned any sort of symbol or slogan that
supported gay rights, and suspended at least 11
students for doing just that. After Gillman was reprimanded
for defending a gay student who had been harassed, she
returned to school wearing symbols of support
including the rainbow flag and the initials G P for
"gay pride." Her principal told her exhibiting symbols
of gay pride was not allowed because it was "disruptive" and
made students imagine sex.
But in May of
this year, the United State District Court ordered the
school to stop its unconstitutional censorship of students,
and warned the district not to retaliate against
students over the lawsuit.
"Heather Gillman
is a courageous young woman who is most deserving of
this very prestigious First Amendment award," said Howard
Simon, executive director of the American Civil
Liberties Union, in a release. "She exercised
leadership and honesty when she stood up to the
school's principal and the school board on behalf of the
rights of gay students and we congratulate her."
This week,
Gillman and her mother will travel to Washington, D.C. to be
honored at an October 21 awards gala where she will receive
the award, which includes a $10,000 cash prize that
she plans to put toward college. (Neal Broverman,
The Advocate)
