How Hillary Horsford got herself suspended from the Dunn

Hillary Horsford will be taking a few days off school this week.

She's been suspended because she read an unauthorized announcement over her school's public-address system and circulated unapproved flyers there Friday morning.

Horsford (shown), is a student at Sir James Dunn Collegiate and Vocational School and a former SooToday.com editorialist.

Defying school policy, Hillary encouraged her fellow students to come out to the Sault Ste. Marie Court House Saturday picket in support of gay marriage.

The flyers she circulated at school promoted the same protest.

"Did you know 60 percent of Saultites are against same-sex marriage?" Hillary asked during morning announcments.

"Do you want to marry the person you love? Well, so do they, so come out and picket against the picketers," she read.

"I knew the principal wouldn't sign it, so I just read it and expected getting consequences," Horsford told SooToday.com.

She says Sir James Dunn Principal Cheryl Smithers reacted angrily and snatched away the paper as soon as she finished reading it.

"She told me I better not put up any flyers and I had already put up a bunch of flyers," said Horsford.

Three-day suspension

"I didn't say anything at the time and later in the afternoon she called me back into her office to tell me I was suspended for three days."

The teen activist said she felt she was being punished for encouraging fellow students to support same-sex marriage because there are many unsigned announcements read and unauthorized flyers circulated on a regular basis.

She believes she would have received a less harsh punishment if she had followed the school rules of conduct and stated both sides of the issue, but that she would still have been punished for openly supporting same-sex marriage.

"I knew I would get in trouble but I didn't know I would get suspended. Almost every day most of the announcements aren't signed."

Quit Student Council

Horsford, shown appearing at Saturday's protest at the Court House, has resigned from the Dunn's Student Council to protest her punishment.

16 photos from Saturday's demonstration

She's also been excused from her duties reading morning announcements.

She said she believes the cause was worth the trouble and that the trouble at school will blow over after she returns.

Just over 40 demonstrators sang, chanted and waved signs on Queen Street on Saturday.

"Two-four-six-eight, sep-a-rate church and state!" the participants chanted, adding "Ho-ho, Homophobia's gotta go!"

'We're going to keep coming back every Saturday'

Horsford and organizers of the event were expecting anti-same-sex demonstrators to show up by noon, but by 1 p.m. none had shown.

"We're just going to keep coming back here every Saturday until the bill is passed," said one of the organizers, Mister Tahti.

"I'm here to show Tony Martin that the Sault is not against him and his choice to support gay marriage," Tahti said.

Last weekend, about 165 protestors gathered at the Court House to demonstrate against changes proposed to provincial legislation that would remove gender-specific language from the definition of spouse, allowing same-sex marriages.

The group Concerned Citizens for Traditional Marriage has been lobbying Sault MP Tony Martin to vote against this legislation and has said that over 60 percent of Saultites do not support same-sex marriage.

SooToday.com coverage of last week's demonstration

Ryan Cartner, another organizer of the demonstration for same-sex marriage support, said the poll that group referred to was suspect.

"They are trying to convince Tony Martin that they are a majority," said Cartner.

"Now I'm not entirely sure if that's true or not because the only poll that I've seen saying its 60 percent was done by a group out of Toronto funded by Enshrine Marriage Canada."

"I just want to remind Tony that 165 people marching down Queen Street is not a majority," said Cartner.

16 photos from Saturday's demonstration