"Bad wurds" in Louisiana: a lesbian mom faces a defiant school board after her young son is punished for telling his classmates that she is gay.

Outraged that her 7-year-old son, Marcus McLaurin, was punished for telling his classmates that she is gay, Sharon Huff, 27, of La Fayette, La., turned to the American Civil Liberties Union for help. They demanded that school officials apologize and expunge the incident from her son's records. But the school board refused.

Huff and her son made international headlines in November when he was reprimanded by his teacher for talking to a fellow second-grader about his mother's relationship. "Gay is when a girl likes another girl," McLaurin said in response to a classmate's query. For that one remark he was scolded in class, written up in a report, and sent home with a "behavior contract" for his mother to sign. He was then ordered to attend a behavior clinic where he had to repeatedly write "I will never use the word 'gay' in school again.

Huff spoke to The Advocate's Patrick Letellier about the incident and "why she's ensure about filing a lawsuit.

How has this experience been for you?

It's really saddening. I've gotten to the point where I'm fed up, but I don't want to rum tail and tam. Heather [Sharon's partner] is a wonderful person. I moved here to be with Heather and her family because they're so wonderful. I want my son to live in the love that I talk about.

Will you be filing a lawsuit?

There would be no greater thrill for me, but there's nothing telling me I can protect Marcus. I have no idea what kind of damage that could cause or Kit could make things better for him. It could work both ways.

We know Marcus only as the boy who talked about his gay mother at school. What's he like?

He's a very sensitive child. He's really protective of the other kids at school. He never wants anybody to get into trouble.

How is he dealing with this?

He's torn up. He doesn't understand why I say gay is not wrong and why Iris teacher says it is. But he's starting to understand again that gay is not a bad word. He's been getting letters from children with gay parents all over the world. He got one letter from two kids in New York. They're Mormon and their grandmother is gay. They asked Marcus if he wanted to be a pen pal. He's very excited about it.

This story seems to have touched people everywhere. Why do you think that is?

This is not just a gay issue. It's kids from families with mixed races or of a different religion or from a different country. The kids shouldn't be subjected to prejudice because of who they were bunt to. If you don't like gays, come talk to me, but don't get on my child about it.

What advice do you have for other gay parents?

I feel for everybody dealing with this. I try to teach my son to treat everybody the way we would like them to treat him. I told him some things in this world you have to stand up for: your family, your way of life. Instead of getting mad, educate people.

How would you like this situation to end?

I would like my son to be able to live like every other kid and be able to talk about his family with his friends if he wants to. Marcus isn't trying to teach kids about sex; he's just trying to teach kids what, I've taught him--that it doesn't matter where you come from, we're all the same, we all deserve the same things in life.