Gay Teen in Stun Gun Case Sues Indy School District

Sep 04, 2012

An openly gave high school student has filed a federal lawsuit against Indianapolis Public Schools. Darnell "Dynasty" Young, who’s 17, first made headlines last spring after being expelled for bringing a stun gun to school. Young said that he brought the stun gun to school to protect himself against bullies. The new lawsuit, which was filed last Friday by the National Center for Lesbian Rights and Kirkland & Ellis, alleges that Indianapolis Public Schools "engaged in discriminatory treatment and fail[ed] to protect Young.

Colorlines.com contributor Rod McCullom offers more details:

Young says classmates at Arsenal Technical HS relentlessly bullied him ever since he and his twin brother arrived in October from Arizona–taunting him, calling him names, following him home and even throwing rocks at him. On 16 April, Young eventually fired a stun gun into the air to scare off a group of six kids who used gay slurs and threatened to attack him. Young was suspended and remained out of school until his expulsion on 8 May.

Young and his mother said they told the school about the bullying "more than 10 times"–but the school only formally investigated one complaint. The stun gun was given to him by his mother, who says school authorities were not helpful and told Darnell to "tone down" his accessories and mannerisms. Young’s mother is also a party to the lawsuit.