Two young Wellington men are quickly gathering support on Facebook after they were told they could not attend a Catholic school's ball unless they took a girl. The page Get Malcolm Pimentel and Keith (Derick) Labad to the St Pat's Ball already has close to 2,000 supporters. Labad, a former St Pat's student, says he and current student Pimental were planning to attend the school's ball as friends, but five days before the ball, they were told they would not be allowed. "Father Martin decided that we would not be allowed to go because of implied homophobic reasons, saying "If you're going to go to the ball, you're taking a girl," Labad has written on the page. "The purpose of this event is to have all those who are in support of our cause to fight this discrimination, on one page, so we can share ideas, and update people on how we're getting along with the fight," he writes. "Please Spread this event as soon as possible, as the ball is this Saturday and we want to have as big an impact as possible. "And for anyone who asks, I, Keith Labad, am a Catholic. I just also happen to be Queer. We are not taking shots at religion, but rather, we're trying to claim what we deserve as humans and that is our rights," Labad says, before making it clear the page is not an attack on his school or religion. A St Patricks student and prefect, Zubin D'Sousa, who is friends with both men, has endorsed their stand, saying; "I just wanna say that I fully support them, and while this may be against a supposed teaching of the school and the Catholic institution, as intelligent beings we need to consider and question rather than accept blindly. "It is clearly an issue where the Church and basic human rights diverge, and I hope that there will be even more people supporting this cause and joining in discussion." GayNZ.com Daily News has asked St Patrick's College to clarify the situation and has, as yet, had no response. However the school's rector Father Paul Martin has told the Dominion Post the school has a policy in place that does not allow ''old boys'' or boys from other schools to attend school functions. ''It's a management issue. When you have boys from other schools or former students, you can have tensions between the students. Balls are complicated enough without adding another dimension,'' he told the newspaper.Have you been banned from bringing a same-sex partner to your ball and want to share your story? Email jacqui@gaynz.com
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Tuesday, 14th June 2011 - 10:48am