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A US federal judge has ruled that Mississippi school officials violated a lesbian student’s constitutional rights by banning her from wearing a tuxedo or taking her girlfriend to the prom.

“Defendants have violated her First Amendment rights by denying Constance’s request to bring her girlfriend as her date to the prom,” district judge Glen H. Davidson ruled.

The student involved in the case, 18-year-old Constance McMillen, said it felt “really good” to have a court acknowledge she had been the subject of discrimination.

“All I ever wanted was for my school to treat me and my girlfriend like any other couple that wants to go to prom,” she said.

“Now we can all get back to things like picking out our prom-night outfits and thinking about corsages.”

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which represented Ms McMillen in the case, hailed the ruling as “a win for all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students who just want to be able to be themselves at school without being treated unfairly”.

However the judge said that the school board would not have to reinstate the prom - originally scheduled to take place on 2nd April - because it would “confuse and confound” parents’ plans to hold a private prom that will be open to all students.

“To now require the defendants to host one as it had originally planned would defeat the purpose and efforts of those individuals,” he said.

Ms McMillen has not been invited to the parent-organised prom, but Itawamba county’s school superintendent assured the court that the event would be open to all students.

The court also heard that fellow students had become hostile to Ms McMillen following cancellation of the event.

“I wound up leaving early that day because there were so many people giving dirty looks and whispering when I went by, ’cos most people thought I had caused the prom to be cancelled. A lot of people didn’t like me very much,” the student said.

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