USA
Commentary
Respect for Jarred Gamwell Who Lost,
Yet Won
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Two weeks ago, Jarred Gamwell was a normal young and “out” gay guy at high school in USA. Like many others, he was taunted – something he got used to. Outside of the small city of Wilson, North Carolina, no one had ever heard of his name and few had heard of the James B. Hunt High School he attends. Seventeen year old Jarred, an academic “high-flyer” who hopes to become a high school teacher, then decided he would run for president of the school’s student body. |
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And as anyone running for any election knows, you have to have a slogan or two for your campaign. Jarred opted for “Queer Eye for Hunt High” and “Gay Guys Know Everything”. Posters were duly made and pinned up around the school – as were others for the three other candidates.
But head teacher Bill Williamson ordered Jarrad’s poster to be removed – they were “disruptive”, he claimed. The American Civil Liberties Union then became involved and the matter went to court.
Suddenly, Jarred Gamwell became a name that was flashed around the world by news agencies. He was a “celebrity”.
The court case was lost. On the eve of the election ballot, Judge Dwight Cranford ruled from the Wilson County courthouse that the school was right to remove the posters. The following day, Jarred “lost” the election, coming fourth.
Jarred’s mobile phone was constantly ringing. The media was interested. He was soon fielding calls from network television – CBS’s “Good Morning America” and NBC’s “The Today Show”, to name just two.
As several American newspapers observed, even adults running for office seek this sort of attention.
But Jarred did not – he just wanted his campaign posters displayed and sought the help of the ACLU.
As for the publicity, Jarred has said that he certainly has more respect from his peers at school than before. And he has the utmost respect from this website.
The same sort of respect as Chris Morris has had for years in the United Kingdom.
Chris, when he was 16, decided that he and other British gay teens that were discriminated against when it came to the age of consent which then was 18 for gays, yet 16 for heterosexuals. The matter ended up in the European Court of Human Rights. But the case was never heard as the British Government, convinced that the court would rule in favour of Chris, settled “out of court” and agreed to bring in legislation to equalise the age of consent at 16.
While Jarred was unsuccessful, he fearlessly “had a go”, trying to put right a wrong. But in many ways, he did win.
2 May, 2004