Transgender student denied shot at homecoming king title

A transgender student at Mona Shores High School in Muskegon, Mich., was reportedly denied a chance to become homecoming king.  For the full story, watch the news video by clicking here or click the image below.

Lisa Mottet, director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force’s Transgender Civil Rights Project, said:

For a school to block someone from becoming homecoming king because he is transgender is deplorable. Discrimination has no place in our schools — or anywhere for that matter — and such behavior by school officials is inexcusable. Stronger local, state and federal laws are needed to ensure that transgender students have equal opportunities to succeed in school.

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force has released preliminary data from a forthcoming and groundbreaking survey on discrimination against transgender people in the United States it conducted with the National Center for Transgender Equality. Data from this large-scale survey show that discrimination in against transgender people is widespread in many areas.

For example, employment discrimination against transgender people is a nearly universal experience: 97 percent of the respondents reported being mistreated or harassed at work, and nearly half (47 percent) said they had lost their jobs, were denied a promotion, or denied a job as a direct result of being transgender. Almost one-fifth (19 percent) of respondents reported becoming homeless because of being transgender.

The American Civil Liberties Union is reportedly considering getting involved in the Muskegon homecoming king case.