Mississippi Town Reverses Decision, Will Allow Pride Parade

The Starkville, Miss., Board of Aldermen has reversed an earlier vote and decided to approve a permit for an LGBT Pride parade after all.

The board's vote came after parade organizer Starkville Pride, represented by civil rights attorney Roberta Kaplan, filed a federal lawsuit saying the city government had committed anti-LGBT discrimination and violated Starkville Pride's free speech rights..

The vote Tuesday evening was a 3-3 tie, but Mayor Lynn Spruill, who had denounced the original vote, taken last month, cast a tie-breaking vote, reports Mississippi TV station WTVA. The original vote was 4-3 against the permit; one board member reportedly abstained from tonight's vote.

The board had denied the permit for a Pride parade in the college town even though many townspeople supported holding the parade and there were apparently no problems with cost, logistics, or security surrounding the event. Starkville is home to Mississippi State University, and Starkville Pride leaders Bailey McDaniel and Emily Turner are students there.

Kaplan, the attorney who won the Windsor v. U.S. case before the U.S. Supreme Court in 2013, gutting the Defense of Marriage Act, issued this statement on Tuesday's vote:

"Bailey McDaniel, Emily Turner, and Starkville Pride stood up to vindicate the right to freedom of speech held by every American, no matter whether they are straight or gay. What happened at tonight's meeting was a victory not only for our clients and for their equal dignity under the law, but also for the core principle that in this country, we do not restrict a person's ability to speak based on whether or not we agree with what they have to say. We look forward to celebrating Pride with the LGBT community of Starkville and the rest of Mississippi on March 24."