STARKVILLE, Miss. It’s a first in Mississippi. Starkville alderman have agreed to give domestic partner benefits to LGBT city workers.
The new policy passed 7-0 Tuesday night. Mayor Parker Wiseman said to make it work, the city will bring in two LGBT liaisons to help the LGBT community.
The nation’s largest LGBT civil rights organization, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) on Friday released a statement commending the Mayor and Board of Aldermen for acknowledging the dignity and worth of its LBGT community. “Loving LGBT couples should have equal access to medical care, and we applaud the Mayor and the Board of Alderman for their leadership on this critical issue,” said HRC Mississippi Director Rob Hill. “This measure successfully provides the necessary benefits that the partners of hardworking LBGT city workers deserve, and the city of Starkville demonstrated its commitment to upholding the Golden Rule by treating them with dignity and respect.”
Earlier this year, Starkville became the first municipality in the state to pass a resolution welcoming LGBT people and their families to the city. That resolution recognized the inherited worth of all citizens and said they should be treated with respect and equality. Following Starkville’s lead, several other cities across the state passed similar resolutions including Greenville, Hattiesburg, Jackson, Magnolia, Oxford and Bay St. Louis.
