December 2, 2004
Private: After Punishing Student for Explaining Lesbianism, Terry Bethea Sues for Defamation
Last year, Terry L. Bethea, a teacher at Ernest Gallet Elementary School in Louisiana, sent a 7 year old student to the principal's office for explaining to another student that his mom was a lesbian. According to his mother "the incident began when her son, Marcus McLaurin, was waiting in line to go to recess when a classmate asked him about his mother and father. He responded that he didn't have a mother and father; instead he has two mothers. When the other child asked why, Marcus told him that it was because his mother is gay. The other child then asked what that meant, and Marcus explained, 'Gay is when a girl likes another girl.'"
Terry Bethea scolded Marcus in front of his classmates after overhearing the exchange and sent him to the principal's office instead of to recess. He had to come to school early the following week to write lines--"I will never use the word 'gay' in school again."
He also had to sign a "Student Behavior Contract" explaining his transgression. Marcus wrote that he "sed bad wurds" and that if only he hadn't, he "wud be at riyses." At the top is written, "He explained to another child that you are gay and what being gay means." (Atrios has a scanned copy of the actual contract, which you absolutely must see to fully appreciate.) The county school board, by a vote of 5-3, refused to apologize (at "Gay Comment Starts Flap in Louisiana District") for the incident, accepting Terry Bethea's explanation that Marcus was actually reprimanded for disrupting class rather than for anything related to homosexuality.
Now Terry Bethea is suing Marcus' mom for defamation, accusing her of lying. Unlike in the U.K., truth is a complete defense against a defamation charge in America. Even the inclusion of minor errors would not defeat the defense, so long as the "sting" of the charge holds. The signature on that Student Behavior Contract sure looks like "T L Bethea."
Terry Bethea's suit also names four ACLU officials who had aided Marcus' mom, ensuring competent representation for the defense.
UPDATE Thursday, 12/02/04, 12:11pmEST, by Ian: By request of a reader, here is the contract which the student was forced to sign:
UPDATE Thursday, 12/02/04 5:58pmEST, by Ian: ACSBlog reader Tom in comments suggests this contract may be a gag, so take it with whatever grain of salt is necessary.
UPDATE Thursday, 12/02/04 6:09pmEST, by John: Atrios vouches for the authenticity of the document.
UPDATE Thursday, 12/02/04 6:30pmEST, by John: Atrios directs us to the ACLU page where you can find the original. Thank you Atrios.