Pride Group Settles Discrimination Lawsuit Against Birmingham Mayor

9/4/09-by Paula Brooks
The City of Birmingham, Alabama and a local gay pride group have reached a settlement in a federal lawsuit brought by the group after that city’s mayor attempted to withhold a parade permit and refused issue an official proclamation, or to install parade banners on city property for a gay pride event last year.

Central Alabama Pride Inc. filed a federal lawsuit last year against Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford, saying he discriminated against the group when he refused to allow city workers to hang Gay Pride Week banners.

Langford had also initially refused to sign a proclamation for an annual gay pride celebration or allow banners on city property, and said he would not grant the sponsoring group a parade permit.

Eventually the Birmingham Police Department issued the group a parade permit after Langford met with members of the group. The Birmingham City Council also passed a resolution supporting the Gay Pride Week activities, including the parade. However, members of Central Alabama Pride had to hang the banners that had been hung by city workers in previous years.

The city workers routinely hang banners in Birmingham for other cultural festivals, businesses, church groups and religious meetings.

At the time Langford said, “The bottom line is I don’t condone the lifestyle and what they were asking me to do in my official capacity as mayor was to issue a proclamation which in essence endorsed the gay lifestyle… If I had issued such a proclamation, I would in essence be saying that God’s position is wrong and I wouldn’t dare take a position against God. So as opposed to suing me, they need to be suing God, and the last time I checked, he can defend himself. End of story.”

As part of the settlement the city has agreed to pay $40,350 for Central Alabama Pride legal fees and the lawsuit-filing fee. The city will also craft a nondiscrimination policy when it comes to hanging banners.

On a side note… The FBI arrested Langford last winter on a 101-count indictment alleging conspiracy, bribery, fraud, money laundering, and filing false tax returns in connection with a long-running bribery and kickback scheme involving a municipal sewer system construction project, that according to prosecutors, netted Langford $235,000 and has nearly bankrupted Alabama’s most-populous county.

Last month the judge in that case ruled Langford is indigent and can’t afford to pay for his attorney anymore… so Langford’s lawyer will now be paid with US taxpayer dollars as a court appointed attorney.

Langford is still Mayor of Birmingham.