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To: craig crawford who wrote (141747)	4/21/2002 12:13:59 PM
From: re3	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 164684

linked from the national post... Gay teen sues school Student seeks $100,000: School board, principal named in prom ban suit Sarah Schmidt National Post, with files from The Canadian Press Kevin Van Paassen, National Post Marc Hall is fighting for the right to take his boyfriend to prom. TORONTO - A gay student at a Catholic high school has launched a lawsuit against his principal after he was banned from attending the prom with his boyfriend. Marc Hall, 17, yesterday filed an injunction in the Ontario Superior Court to lift the ban, upheld this week by trustees of the Durham Catholic District School Board. The board is also named in the suit. "I'm sorry we have to be here. I don't want to be suing my school. I just want to go to the [May 10] prom with my boyfriend," Mr. Hall told a news conference. Mr. Hall, a Grade 12 student at Monsignor John Pereyma Catholic School in Oshawa, argues in his statement of claim that school administrators violated his rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms by "discriminating against him on the basis of his sexual orientation and publicly taking the position that they are justified in treating him in a discriminatory fashion, thereby encouraging others to do likewise in other contexts." He is also seeking $100,000 in damages. George Smitherman, a provincial Liberal MPP who is gay, is acting as litigation guardian because Mr. Hall is under 18. The controversy has ignited a debate about the Catholic Church's teaching on homosexuality. It has also raised questions about the right of Catholic officials to uphold Church teachings in a publicly funded school system, even if some view the positions as discriminatory. According to a board statement, the Church "does not condemn an individual for his or her sexual orientation. However, the behaviours associated with a homosexual lifestyle are not consistent with Church teaching and our values as a Catholic school system." Ontario is constitutionally required to publicly fund Catholic schools. The board has said it is "constitutionally entitled to administer its schools in a manner that is consistent with the teachers of the Church." David Corbett, a human rights lawyer who is representing Mr. Hall, said he is not disputing the constitutional protections accorded to the Catholic school system in Ontario. "They have a special status where they receive funding and they are constitutionally recognized. Does that mean, we ask, that their rights are absolute?... We say no." According to the Ontario Education Act, a code of conduct provides that all school members "respect and treat each other fairly, regardless of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age or disability." The statement of claim alleges the decisions of the principal and the board target Mr. Hall for being gay. "The special constitutional protection of the Board and the School do not immunize them from Charter scrutiny, or from complying with the fundamental laws of Canada. In particular, the rights and privileges according to Catholic schools in Ontario at the time of Confederation did not include opting out of or ignoring basic standards of civil conduct." The lawsuit is having an effect at Mr. Hall's school, where some students are challenging what they have been taught. "They teach us God created people equally, but they say homosexuality is wrong and against God. That's like saying God was making a mistake when He made Marc. That's just not right," 19-year-old Alicia McAuley, a Grade 13 student, said.