April 17, 2009 | Online

ACLU to Tenn. schools: stop blocking gay

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) wants school boards in Tennessee to stop censoring gay websites. It's not just adult sites like BananaGuide that are blocked: even websites for gay charities are made inaccessible. However, if you want to waste your time on “reparative therapy” pages and learn about “ex-gay” ministries, those are still allowed.

The ACLU has advised the boards that banning gay websites is illegal, and a lawsuit is possible if Tennessee doesn't make immediate changes to the way they filter online sites. The ban on adult material is not being challenged.

“Students at Knox County and Metro Nashville schools are being denied access to content that is protected speech under the First Amendment as well as the Tennessee state constitution,” said Tricia Herzfeld, staff attorney with the ACLU of Tennessee. “This kind of censorship does nothing but hurt students, whether they’re being harassed at school and want to know about their legal rights or are just trying to finish an assignment for a class.”

Andrew Emitt, a 17-year-old senior, couldn't even read information on gay and lesbian scholarships. "I couldn’t get to it because of this software," he complained. “Our schools shouldn’t be keeping students in the dark about LGBT organisations and resources.”

Oh, we still have a very long way to go folks!

Civil liberties group challenges US school boards to remove internet ban on gay sites [PinkNews]