Mississippi town faces lawsuit after denying university students pride parade

Two students have sued the Mississippi town of Starkville after city aldermen voted 4-3 to reject the town’s first-ever gay pride parade. Bailey McDaniel and Emily Turner are students of Mississippi State University, they had planned a parade as part of a larger set of events.

"For us, I think Starkville Pride is a way to celebrate the diversity of Starkville," Turner said last week. "It's a very diverse and accepting community. It's also about showing that we're here."

Because of its proximity to the university Starkville is a somewhat more cosmopolitan place than neighbouring Mississippi towns.

The two women have asked a federal judge to overrule the aldermen and grant a parade permit immediately

"The city banned plaintiffs from speaking in a public forum solely because it disagreed with the viewpoint and content of their speech," states the lawsuit. "That hostility to their message was inextricably intertwined with hostility to their LGBT identity and pro-LGBT advocacy."

Ordinarily special events like this would not warrant any extra attention, with the aldermen having recently approved 55 special events in a row without much discussion. "This difference in process is strong evidence of viewpoint bias," the lawsuit states.

Tim Gibson - myGwork

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