Parents, students and supporters are rallying around Flint Dollar, a middle school music teacher in Macon who says his Catholic prep school fired him over plans to marry his boyfriend of six years.

Supporters gathered in front of the Macon school on Friday after meeting with Mount de Sales Academy President David Held a day earlier to discuss Wednesday's firing. Nearly 1,700 people have signed an online petition calling for the school to reconsider Dollar's firing, Save Flint Dollar was created on Facebook and #savedollar is a rallying point on Twitter.

Dollar, meanwhile, tells WSB that his goal isn't to get his job back. (Video above)

"It's to teach my students that when you believe in something, you stand up for what you believe in," Dollar says.

Held emailed the school's parents and staff on Thursday, but didn't discuss Dollar's termination, according to the GA Voice. The media outlet also reported this rich bit of irony:

Curiously, the school’s employment policy covers sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.