Affirmation: Gay & Lesbian Mormons

Youth Pages

No Money for Mormon Girl Who Sued over Saying “That's So Gay”

From an AP Story
May 2007

A Sonoma County judge ruled that a Mormon high school student who sued after being disciplined and then mercilessly teased for using the phrase “That's so gay” was not entitled to monetary damages.

Superior Court Judge Elaine Rushing said that while she sympathized with 18-year-old Rebekah Rice for the ridicule she experienced at Maria Carrillo High School, her lawyers had failed to prove that school administrators had violated any state laws or singled the girl out for punishment.

The case filed by Rice and her parents in 2003 brought widespread attention to a three-word phrase that some teenagers use to mean “stupid” or “uncool,” but has come under attack as an insensitive insult to gay people young and old.

The Rices argued that a teacher at Maria Carrillo High violated Rebekah Rice's First Amendment rights by sending her to the principal's office and putting a note in her school file. During a trial in February, Rebekah Rice testified she said “That's so gay,” as a response to other students asking her rude questions about her Mormon upbringing.

Rushing said the school district was not liable for monetary damages because the law under which the Rices brought the lawsuit specifically excludes schools. In addition, she said that school officials are given wide latitude in deciding how to enforce non-discrimination provisions of the state education code.