Technically speaking, none of the aldermen altered their votes. Ward 3 Alderman David Little abstained. This allowed Mayor Lynn Spruill who has been vocal in support of the pride parade to break the tie at 3-3 and cast the decisive vote. Little stated that he feels like he’s had more time over the past few weeks to think about this. “… I believe Starkville’s best interests are served by moving beyond this issue and pursuing other positive issues that affect our community. However, I retain my principal decision and I abstain from my vote.” Spruill was largely silent during Tuesday’s debate, but after casting her tie-breaking ballot, she finally gave a smile. Spruill has been vocal in her support for the parade, and expressed concern about “what kind message” she would not allow to be sent. “Absolutely, I hope that it will change. Spruill stated that he has made no secret that the vote does not reflect the Starkville community. The parade will take place on March 24. Starkville has been embroiled in controversy since February 20, when the board voted 4-3 against Starkville Pride to allow Starkville Pride a parade permit. National media picked up the story within hours. Constitutional law experts began predicting that Starkville would lose the lengthy legal battle. Rob McDuff, an attorney who has been challenging the state on many constitutional issues and is not involved with the Starkville lawsuit, said that “this is a blatant violation of the Constitution”. Patrick Miller, Ward 5 Alderman, stated that the board has not denied an event permit since 2010. No board member raised any concerns during the hearing about the permit application details. In the meeting on February 20, however, two Starkville residents spoke out against the parade permit. Two Starkville residents expressed concern that a parade of gay, lesbian, and transgender people could pose a public conflict to their religious beliefs. The lawsuit was filed in federal court on February 26. It alleged that the refusal by the city violated residents’ First Amendment rights to free speech, assembly, petition, and equal protection clause under the Fourteenth Amendment. “The city prohibited plaintiffs from speaking at a public forum because it disagreed in content and viewpoint with their speech. The lawsuit states that their hostility towards their message was inextricably linked with their hostility to LGBT identity and pro LGBT advocacy. Mississippi Today reached out to the Starkville aldermen, including Little, who voted against it multiple times since the original vote. However, none of them responded to requests for comment. Ward 4 Alderman Jason Walker voted in favor of the parade and predicted that the city’s defense could easily cost six figures. Given the outcome, he stated it would be a waste taxpayer resources. “I believe all aldermen have been informed by the city attorney that this is not a case that we can win. Walker stated hours before Tuesday’s meeting that they would see if anyone changed their vote. Little didn’t explicitly state it, but his remarks Tuesday night about “moving beyond this” suggested that the town’s leadership was facing a costly and lengthy legal battle. The status of the lawsuit remains uncertain, as Starkville has re-voted its decision. Roberta Kaplan is the Starkville Pride attorney. She has successfully sued the state for its ban on gay marriages and gay adoptions in the past three years. It is not clear why Little stayed away from the issue. Chip Stevens, the pastor of First Baptist Church in Starkville where Little is a member gave a sermon on Sunday about the controversy surrounding Pride Parade. Stevens offered a different perspective on the controversy surrounding the Pride Parade, even though the Southern Baptist Convention (of which First Baptist is part) has been opposed to gay culture mainstreaming. When faced with social problems, we sometimes panic and begin to scramble. We begin to twist verses. And we react. Stevens stated in his sermon that we want the government do the things God has called it to, but we do so under the pretext of “we cannot be silent on such issues.” “Could it possibly be that the world’s problems are not due to our silence on issues, but because of what we have done with the gospel?” Tuesday’s permit approval was slightly different from the one approved two weeks ago. Sandra Sistrunk from Ward 2, an advocate for the parade, moved to permit it. However, this time Starkville was not an official sponsor. This was partly explained by Sistrunk after Tuesday’s meeting. Starkville has had a difficult relationship in recent years with LGBT issues. Starkville was the first Mississippi town to adopt an anti-discrimination resolution in 2014. Later, the city also added a policy to extend health benefits to the domestic partners of city employees. According to the members of the board, the city quietly ended both policies months later under pressure from religious leaders. According to Starkville residents, this period is also one of growth and transition. Like many other towns on the eastern side, Starkville has strong small-town agricultural roots. Starkville, unlike many other towns, is growing rapidly. This is due to Mississippi State, a vibrant university that brings money, jobs and youth to a region of the state that is rarely overflowing with these things. Trace Day, a Starkville resident for over 30 years, said, “If it wasn’t for Mississippi State it’d be like Sturgis here.” It would be a small hole in the wall.” While Starkville is known as “Mississippi’s College Town”, residents are not afraid to show their support for the university. However, Mississippi State students and professors are often more diverse than the local population. We have more interaction with the university than ever before, and many of the students live in our community. We are not the 1950s or 2010 town some people wish we would be back. We just have to be aware of the larger community and how other people may see what was to me a routine administrative matter,” Sistrunk stated. It’s a moment of growth for the city, I think. We’ll get better at it.”