Tennessee school won't allow gay teen to bring another boy to homecoming dance for 'logistical reasons'

An all-boys Tennessee school won't allow a gay student to take another boy to his homecoming dance.

Administrators at Christian Brothers High School, a Catholic prep school in Memphis, denied student Lance Sanderson's request to take a boy from another school, reported the Memphis Flyer.

The teen had talked to an administrator last year about the topic, and gave him permission to bring the boy, but that official left over the summer.

The school cited a policy against boys from other schools attending social functions as its official reason for denying the teen's request.

"CBHS students may attend the dance by themselves, with other CBHS students, or with a girl from another school," the school's policy states. "For logistical reasons, boys from other schools may not attend."

But Sanderson said a school official gave him a much different reason when he broached the topic a couple of months ago.

"I was sitting down talking to one of the current administrators over the summer, and at the end of our conversation, I mentioned it, expecting him to say the same thing," Sanderson said. "(But) he had a very different response. He mentioned a (gay) couple in Texas and said I was a lot like this one person and said that the guy's boyfriend murdered him. It was a little rough."

Sanderson said the policy against bringing boys from other schools was drafted in response to his request, and he said the policy has been read daily this week over the intercom.

"The way they worded it is 'for logistical reasons, boys from other schools may not attend,'" he said. "I asked about it in a meeting (Tuesday) morning, and they said they didn't want guys from our school getting into disagreements with guys from other schools."

Sanderson said he would be able to go to the dance with another CBHS student, but he said administrators would "paint it as we're just friends going together."

Watch this video report posted online by WMC-TV:

WMC Action News 5 - Memphis, Tennessee