The below statement can be attributed to ACLU of Mississippi Executive Director Jennifer Riley-Collins:
“The ACLU of Mississippi calls upon the city of Starkville to act swiftly in approving a request from a grassroots group planning to host the city’s first Pride Parade on March 24. The Starkville Board of Aldermen’s recent denial of the request potentially violates the First Amendment and Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
“The government cannot prevent a parade or event simply because it promotes LGBTQ pride or because its organizers and marchers are LGBTQ. In addition, the government cannot treat people unequally because they are LGBTQ. This is exactly what the Board of Alderman did, and that is discrimination, plain and simple. It also violates the Constitution.
“It is disappointing and disturbing that the Starkville Board of Alderman would decide to treat LGBTQ people differently from everyone else. The ACLU of Mississippi, therefore, urges the Starkville Board of Alderman to reconsider their decision and approve the request.”
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