Mississippi town rejects gay pride parade; lawsuit possible

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Organizers of a group that was planning a Mississippi college town's first-ever gay pride parade said Wednesday that they're exploring legal action after city officials denied them a permit.

Starkville aldermen voted 4-3 Tuesday to deny the permit requested by Starkville Pride, an LGBT support group, drawing criticism from the city's mayor and leaving some members of the group in tears.

Others who attended the meeting said none of the four aldermen explained the reasons for their decision, either in public or in a closed session where the city lawyer warned of possible legal action. Three left by a back door after the meeting.

It's the third time in recent years that aldermen have voted against an LGBT-friendly measure. In 2015, aldermen repealed a nondiscrimination policy and stopped providing health insurance to unmarried partners of city employees. At the time, gay marriage was illegal in Mississippi.

Bailey McDaniel, one of the organizers of the pride weekend, said that Roberta Kaplan, a lawyer who has handled groundbreaking gay rights litigation in the state and nationally, has agreed to represent her. Andrew Friedman, a spokesman for Kaplan, said Tuesday that no litigation has been filed yet.

Source: Yahoo News