Marc Hall Goes To the Prom

by:  Victoria Pazzano

The judge’s mallet struck the shiny wooden platform, as he announced the final verdict. The case wasn’t a simple one; the decision whether 17 year old Marc Hall, a gay teen, should be allowed to take his 21 year old boyfriend to the annual high school prom.

When Hall requested to take his boyfriend to the prom, his principal firmly refused.  Belonging to a Catholic school board, “a homosexual lifestyle” is frowned upon.  Hall reported his argument to the press, and took his protests to the court. 

The judge ruled in favour of Hall, and though much controversy arose, his family and friends supported him. Despite the fact that we all like to see individual human rights supported,   the question is, should he really have been permitted to take his boyfriend to the prom?

Discrimination is present in life all over the world and, unfortunately, Hall’s case was yet another issue of it. In truth, gays or homosexuals should not have to live an invisible life, afraid to be seen or heard in their own society.  They are human beings and have a right to be respected.  They should not be treated negatively, just because they are different.  “Many gay teenagers are too ashamed to tell their parents and too fearful to tell their peers.  Marc’s plight drew the attention of gay-rights activists eager to change public attitudes and clarify the law”, reports Sarah Schmidt, journalist for the National Post. 

Welcome to the real world.  Although there are those ‘older generation’ people that hate to openly admit it, there are gay people and there are straight people, and they are perfectly capable of interacting with each other and living in harmony. “I learned a bit about human rights in law class, but I didn’t know much about legal stuff and politics.  I just wanted to go to the prom.”, said Hall.

That’s right, and that’s what we should focus on.  All Marc Hall wanted to do was the same thing as any other red blooded teenager desires. He wanted to go to his high school prom.  He wasn’t trying to start a political scandal; he just wanted to celebrate like all his fellow graduates.

The judge’s concluding response was, “Nowhere in the materials do I find documentary evidence that same-sex dancing is sinful or sexual under Catholic dogma.  Rather, the catechism calls for non-discrimination and mentions nothing of same-sex dancing.”  In addition, the location of the prom was outside of the boundaries of his Catholic high school.

However, to avoid the bombardment of the media, Hall could have said nothing.  For appearances, he could have taken a girl, or he could have gone by himself.  But that’s not what he wanted.  He is a gay teen who wants to be himself, and he’s someone that didn’t want to be dishonest to society.  His opinion made a difference and positively affected many of the gay teens in his community, showing them that they have the courage to stand up for themselves.

Would this situation have been treated differently if the person were female?  Girls go to the prom as “friends”, dance together, and still manage to enjoy themselves without being unreasonable.  Hall’s situation was very similar, yet he was made out as the villain in this case.

The prom night is a night that every high school student dreams about.  This night of festivities could have been destroyed for Marc Hall.  Fortunately, he never gave up his position on the case, and he must be admired for his bravery. 

Approximately 30 years ago, situations like this occurred, but the issue wasn’t homosexuality or sexual preference. In the sixties the issues then were with skin colour.  Blacks and whites were separated from each other, forbidden to make any contact with someone of the opposite race.  That, as we recognize now, was a ridiculous way of life, and luckily for us, racial segregation was later abolished.

However, the segregation issue resembles the plight of gay and straight people today.  It is unnecessary for them to be separated, attending different proms. Although the issues may be seen as being different, they are not. Exclusion or segregation is unacceptable in today’s society. If we don’t want history to repeat itself, we need to accept the fact that individuals are unique. They have unique cultural values, religions and sexual choices. It’s our job, as a society, to respect that.