Queens Fifth-Grader Barred from Delivering Marriage Equality Speech to School
A fifth-grader from New York's PS 195 was told by the school's principal he would not be allowed to read a speech on same-sex marriage to the school, and must pick a different topic.
Kameron Slade was picked to deliver his speech in a school-wide competition after winning a class contest. But after the principal found out Kameron was planning on using his stage time to expound on the merits of allowing "all people...to marry whoever they want," she immediate put the kibosh on his speech.
"I was really looking forward to it," Kameron told NY1. "I thought that this was a real good winning speech for tomorrow."
His mother said the principal found his topic "inappropriate," and told her Kameron would be removed from the contest if he didn't choose an alternative subject. "She said that people have different opinions on it and that some parents may not want their children to learn about this type of topic," Kameron told the news station.
Asked to comment, the New York City Department of Education said Kameron will be given an opportunity to present his speech "in some sort of a different assembly," but did not elaborate.
You can watch Kameron read his speech in full in the video above.
