The Mississippi city of Starkville on
Tuesday voted to deny a permit for an LGBT Pride parade and related
events.
Aldermen voted 4-3 to deny the event
permit, the Starkville
Daily News reported.
Starkville Pride, an LGBT support
group, had sought the permit. Organizers said that they wanted to
hold a parade to show the strength of the city's LGBT community.
Sixteen people spoke to aldermen in
favor of the event, while two spoke against it, the AP reported.
The denial left some members of the
group in tears. None of the four aldermen who voted against the
event gave an explanation.
Bailey McDaniel, one of the organizers,
said Wednesday that Roberta Kaplan has agreed to represent the group
in a possible lawsuit. Kaplan represented Edie Windsor before the
Supreme Court in her challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA),
which prohibited federal agencies from recognizing the legal
marriages of same-sex couples. She also represented plaintiffs who
challenged Mississippi's ban on same-sex marriage.
“The parade is integral because it
shows the community that we're here, we're not going anywhere, you
see us in everyday life,” said McDaniel, a student at Mississippi
State University in Starkville.
Mayor Lynn Spruill called the outcome
disappointing.
“I think it creates a view of the
city of Starkville as noninclusive, and I happen to think we are an
inclusive community,” Spruill said of the decision. “We value
diversity.”