STARKVILLE, Miss. – Aldermen in Starkville voted to 5-2 to repeal the city’s equality resolution behind closed doors Tuesday. The policy passed unanimously in 2014. It stated that no citizen would be discriminated against, including people who were lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgender. The board also repealed its plus-one insurance option which allowed city workers to have their mother, girlfriend, or same-sex partner on their insurance, instead of just a spouse.
According to the Commercial Dispatch the vote took place without public discussion or warning.
Mayor Parker Wiseman who supported both policies is expected to veto the board’s decision, which would take five votes to override.
Starkville became the first city in Mississippi to pass an equality resolution denouncing discrimination based on sexual orientation. Other cities including Hattiesburg, Jackson, and Oxford followed through with similar polices.
