New England News

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

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Daughter allegedly harassed at school because mother is gay; school denies the claim

MILTON, Mass. -- A young Milton girl, excessively teased because her mother is gay, is forced to go to school with a bodyguard.

Virginia Gaffey says that her 9-year-old daughter was physically assaulted by other students on the playground at Tucker Elementary in Milton. She claims that the reason was because she is a gay mother.

"She had been harassed, told she has coodies, and that she should be ashamed that her mother should be ashamed because she's a lesbian," Gaffey told a group of reporters.

Gaffey asked that the school give her daughter a bodyguard, but she say that the extra protection did not work.

Gaffey had her daughter transferred to the Glover School. While there, the fourth grader's class was told to write a letter about why they're special. Gaffey read us what her daughter wrote:

"I remember when kids picked on me. They still do. I stuck up for myself. Instead of being chicken I stick up for others."

Gaffey claims that Milton Public Schools are failing to teach students about tolerance and diversity,

"They were actually training my daughter to don't ask, don't tell when my daughter was actually proud of her mom," Gaffey said.

Magdalene Giffune, Milton Schools Superintendent, denied the claim, saying that the assault on Gaffey's daughter never occurred, adding that tolerance of gay parents is taught to children.

"When something happens to your own child it's far more personal and less abstract then when it happens to someone else," Giffune said. "But, I believe that it was handled appropriately."

Gaffey plans to meet with Giffune Wednesday morning to discuss the issue.

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