Starkville Pride, Mississippi’s gay, lesbian and transgender community organization, filed suit against Starkville District Court for rejecting the group’s request to hold a gay pride parade last week. The four aldermen that voted against the permit were unable to provide an explanation and did not respond to multiple requests from Mississippi Today for comment. The lawsuit claims that the denial by the board is discriminatory and therefore unconstitutional. Robbie Kaplan representing Starkville Pride, stated that the students were being denied the right to speak in public forums “based solely upon the content of their speech and specifically the fact they take pride being gay.” “We are confident that a federal court will overturn this unconstitutional action, and allow the parade as planned.” Starkville Pride members said that it was a surprise that the board rejected their application. It is not common for permit applications to be rejected. According to the lawsuit, every similar application that was filed between 2014-2018 was approved by the board. Bailey McDaniel of Starkville Pride stated that they wanted to celebrate and include everyone. “Without explanation, warning, a whole group of people were denied their constitutional rights. “We would like to believe this kind of hateful and intolerant behavior does NOT represent Starkville community, and we hope that it will be reversed.” However, Starkville’s city government members said that they were not surprised by the result. Starkville was the first Mississippi town to adopt an anti-discrimination ordinance that covered sexual orientation and identity. Later, a policy was added that provided health benefits for domestic partners of city employees. According to aldermen who supported Pride parade, the city quietly repealed the policies months later under pressure from religious leaders. Jason Walker, an alderman from Starkville’s Ward 4, said that while he would call it unfortunate, he didn’t find it surprising. “The anti-discrimination resolution, which was passed in the previous term, became controversial and highly debated. It was eventually repealed. These same people were reelected and their opinions didn’t seem change.” Other federal court cases involving alleged violations of gay rights in Mississippi include the 2015 federal appels court decision to reverse the state’s ban against gay marriage. In 2016, a U.S. District court Judge overturned Mississippi’s ban against gay and lesbian parents adopting children. The governor. Phil Bryant signed a law recognizing three “sincerely held religious beliefs” as being worthy of protection. They were that marriage is between one man, one woman and that people shouldn’t have sex with anyone outside these marriages and that gender is determined at birth. If a person refuses to serve someone, they are protected from prosecution. The federal lawsuits were swiftly followed by a rapid outcry. A U.S. District Court judge ruled that the law was invalid, but the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the ruling on the grounds the plaintiffs didn’t have standing since the law hadn’t yet been implemented. Kaplan, Starkville Pride’s attorney, represented the plaintiffs in all of these cases. Starkville Pride’s Bailey McDaniel was not expecting the outcome. However, the event supporters arrived ready for battle. On Tuesday evening, 14 Starkville residents spoke out in support of the parade from all walks of the community. Two people opposed it. Mayor Lynn Spruill expressed her disappointment after the vote and said that it would reflect poorly on Starkville. “I had hoped that it would turn out differently. Special events have always been a part of my life. According to Spruill, “The more the merrier is my opinion,” he told Mississippi Today on Thursday. “I don’t believe the denial represents our community. “I believe the community is more inclusive and diverse that this vote represents.” Spruill and other aldermen stated that it was less surprising to hear rumors of a lawsuit. These rumors had started swirling after the board’s rejection. The board convened an executive session last Tuesday to discuss possible legal action. “If you asked a certain number of attorneys, they would all tell you that you don’t have any legal standing to deny (the parade). “And I say that with hindsight,” Sandra Sistrunk (alderman for Ward 2), who supports a Pride parade.