Plans for prom barring gays rocks Indiana community

SULLIVAN, Ind. (AP) - Plans for a prom that would ban gay students have put a small Indiana community under a microscope and been magnified by a teacher's comment that gays have no purpose in life.

The effort to host a "traditional prom" in Sullivan, Ind., arose after a student at Sullivan High School circulated a petition demanding that same-sex couples be allowed to march together at the school's April 27 prom.

But it gained national attention after comments by Diana Medley, a teacher in a neighboring district who was helping plan the "traditional" prom that would ban gays. Medley's comments went viral and sparked petitions seeking her dismissal.

Principal David Springer says his school has never barred same-sex couples from the prom. He says the issue has been blown out of proportion.