Indiana Teacher Wants 'Traditional' Prom, Banning Gays (VIDEO)

A special education teacher out of a small town in Indiana is taking a lot of heat after she said she supports a "traditional" high school prom that would ban gay couples.

During discussions about the upcoming prom for Sullivan High School, a teacher named Diana Medley from a neighboring school district said she's all for banning homosexual couples from the annual event, adding that she believes people choose to be gay and have no purpose in life, according to the Associated Press.

"I just ... I don't understand it," Diana Medley, referring to gays, told Terre Haute television station WTWO.

Medley's remarks were posted on the internet and went virol. More than 17,500 people have signed a petition on Change.org demanding school officials fire her. A page has also been setup on Facebook supporting a prom for all students regardless of sexual orientation. So far the page has more than 27,000 likes.

The talks of holding a "traditional" prom began in January after a student circulated a petition demanding gays be allowed to partake in the grand march at the prom, school principal David Springer said. He added that the "traditional" prom Medley had in mind would not be allowed in the district.

"Our prom is open to all of our students," said Springer, noting the school never banned a same-sex couple from going to prom. The school has 545 students grade 9 - 12.

But controversy has engulfed the city of Sullivan. School officials say teachers and staff have been bombarded with calls and emails from across the country. The church where the prom planning meeting was held turned off fax machines and took down its website because of hate mail.

Some in the small neighborhood of roughly 4,200 residents say Medley's remarks are being exaggerated for no reason.

"Everybody has jumped on this little town. To me, there isn't any need for it," resident Nancy Woodard told the Associate Press. She said the community is conservative and that "The Bible is a big belief system here."

But gay rights advocates say that Medley's remarks ostracize gays in the community who are in fear of bullying.

Twenty-year-old Aaron Gettinger, who graduated from Sullivan High in 2011, told the Associated Press he was constantly bullied at the school because he was gay. He said Medley's remarks were not surprising.

"It's just the way that it is," Gettinger said. "It's part of a way of thinking that the rest of the country needs to know still exists and goes on."

Medley's remarks can be seen below.