A Tennessee Christian school sued by a former student who claims she was barred from graduation and denied her diploma after coming out as gay has agreed to pay her $10,000 as part of a settlement.
Near the end of her senior year at Tennessee Christian Preparatory School in Cleveland, Tennessee, Morgan Armstrong, a star basketball player, came out on social media, posting photos of herself and her girlfriend, including one in which they were kissing. The caption read: “cat’s out of the bag.”
Armstrong subsequently sent private messages to 10 friends via social media, asking them to “like” her post.
“Go and comment on my post, I have some ruthless Trump supporting ‘Jesus’ mfs on there,” she wrote to her friends.
But Tennessee Christian Preparatory School took offense and called Armstrong and her family to a meeting with Principal Kylie Machacek and Head of Schools Jared Tilley, where administrators presented a letter accusing the senior of making comments that reflected “on the institution, facility, staff, alumni and students in the most negative possible way.”
The letter stated that Armstrong would not be allowed on campus and would be barred from all school events, including graduation. The school said it would withhold her diploma if she commented further on the situation and threatened to send copies of her social media posts to colleges and universities.
On the day of graduation, Armstrong and her family held a small protest across the street from the ceremony.
“It was difficult having to stand across the street knowing that the people I’ve grown up with for the last four years were able to walk across the stage and I wasn’t allowed to,” Armstrong told Nashville NBC affiliate WSMV.
Armstrong’s family later enlisted the help of Nashville civil rights attorney Daniel Horwitz and filed a lawsuit in Bradley County Chancery Court.
Horwitz disputed the school’s claims: “She didn’t post anything about the school, and the private message was not about the school,” he said.
According to the lawsuit, first-time social media violations are punishable by a one-day in-school suspension.
“Follow your own disciplinary policy. Which the school did not do here,” Horwitz said.
As part of a settlement approved on June 22, the school agreed to pay Armstrong $10,000, rescind her suspension, and mail her diploma. It also bars the school from making disparaging comments about Armstrong to colleges and universities.
Tennessee Christian Preparatory School issued a statement to Chattanooga ABC/FOX affiliate WTVC following the settlement.
“Tennessee Christian and the Armstrong family disagree regarding the extent to which Morgan Armstrong violated school policies,” the statement read. “Both parties acknowledge that this disagreement remains unresolved and have mutually agreed to move forward. No further comments will be made regarding this matter.”
“School is a place where every student is entitled to feel welcome, accepted, and supported,” Horwitz told WSMV. “It is not a place where any administrator should feel comfortable disciplining or threatening kids for being gay.”
A Republican congressman is apologizing for a social media post on his X account that attempted to provoke the LGBTQ community during Pride Month by declaring that "homosexuality has no place in America."
The statement, posted to the official X account of U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.), echoes anti-LGBTQ rhetoric embraced by some of the world's most theocratic or authoritarian regimes, including Iran, Ghana, Uganda, and Russia. In those countries, LGBTQ identity and same-sex relationships are often criminalized or heavily stigmatized, with some governments imposing lengthy prison sentences, harsh fines, corporal punishment, or even the death penalty.
Idaho officials suggested that DNA testing could be used to enforce the state's transgender bathroom ban, one of the strictest in the nation. The law applies not only to government-owned buildings but to any place of public accommodation, including privately owned businesses.
The law, which has been challenged in federal court by six transgender Idahoans, is set to take effect on July 1. Under its provisions, anyone who enters a bathroom or changing room that does not align with their assigned sex at birth in a place of public accommodation can be charged with a misdemeanor and face up to a year in jail.
Lawmakers in Ghana have passed a bill that would punish people found to have promoted "LGBTQ activities" or advocated for LGBTQ rights with prison sentences of up to 10 years.
The bill, which is expected to be signed into law by President John Dramani Mahama, bans "promoting, sponsoring, or advocating" LGBTQ acts, as well as funding LGBTQ groups and activities, according to The Associated Press.
The legislation also imposes a three-year prison sentence for people who engage in same-sex activity and a five-year prison sentence for anyone who operates a brothel for prohibited sexual activity.
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