Brody's Notes... Gay Teen In Georgia Kicked Out Of Home After Media Blitz

Derrick Martin  Photo By WMAZ13 News-CBS For Macon, Georgia

By Brody Levesque (Washington DC) Mar 24 | Derrick Martin, the 18 year old Gay high school senior from Bleckley County Georgia, has apparently been kicked out of his parent's home due to a barrage of media requests for interviews and ongoing publicity resulting from the decision by school administrators from his high school to allow him to take his boyfriend to prom.

Martin says the publicity he's gotten, while welcome, has shaken his homelife. He says his parents kicked him out of the house, after the Macon Telegraph newspaper ran an article on him.

"It's their house," he says. "It's always been their house--so they can take me or not."

According to 13Eyewitness-News reporter Bernard O'Donnell, Martin said that winning the battle for his rights--the right to bring his boyfriend Richard to prom was a landmark decision in his hometown.

O'Donnell said Martin is happy about the decision but never expected the outpouring of support that followed, in the form of phone calls and Facebook messages.

"Just telling me that I'm an inspiration to them, I gave them the courage--and some people are going to try to go to prom with their boyfriend or girlfriend," says Martin. "And that's what everything has been about."

Facebookers even created a support page for Martin, the group reaching nearly 400 members in one day.

But Martin says not all response has been positive.

"I've gotten a couple different phone calls and messages from people saying that I should stop and that I'm bringing bad attention to Bleckley County, but I think it's great attention," Martin says. "It's just us moving forward."

The superintendent of schools for Bleckley County, Charlotte Pipkin issued this statement: 

"This statement is not an endorsement of any particular practice or lifestyle, but rather recognition of the legal environment in which public schools operate today."

She says district has no rules or policies that would prevent Martin from bringing a male date to the dance. 

On Martin's mindset about going vocal, he remarked that people can accept or reject what he's saying, as long as they're listening.

"It's the same thing as African Americans wanting their rights," says Martin. "Or any minority wanting their rights. Every person is a human being and they deserve their rights."

The issue of LGBT student rights made national headlines after a teenage Lesbian in Mississippi was told she couldn’t bring her girlfriend to her school's prom. The Itawamba County school board canceled the dance after Constance McMillen and the American Civil Liberties Union sued in federal court. 

U.S. District Judge Glen H. Davidson Tuesday refused the ACLU's demand to force the Itawamba County Mississippi school district to put on the April 2 prom. However, he said canceling it did violate 18-year-old Constance McMillen's rights and that he would hold a trial on the issue. Kristy Bennett, ACLU Mississippi legal director, called the decision a victory.