Birmingham (Ala.) mayor (D) denies gay parade permit

[Newsjock]

Source: Birmingham News

Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford won't sign a proclamation for an annual gay pride celebration or allow banners on city property, and said he will not grant the sponsoring group a parade permit.

Langford said he turned down the requests this week from Central Alabama Pride because it is inappropriate for government to endorse a lifestyle. Pride Week is next month and often includes a parade on Southside and other events.

"My policy is don't ask because it's not my business, and don't put me in the position to make it my business," Langford said Friday. "I don't condone it, but I also am not sitting in judgment on anyone."

... "I don't think I'm intolerant, I just don't condone the lifestyle," he said. "Your personal lifestyle should be nobody's issue but yours. It's not a civil rights issue, it's a personal choice issue."

Read more: http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/121161695665540.xml&coll=2

---

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Langford
Langford, a Democrat was elected to the county commission in 2002

[LeftCoast]

1. Looks like it might be time for another march on Birmingham

Mayor Langford sounds like a real SOB.

[texasleo]

20. He's a 60-year-old black man from Alabama

I doubt that gay rights are at the top of his list of priorities.

[NOLALady]

22. Civil rights should be the priority of all people,

especially black people. Damn. He should know better.

[DRoseDARs]

30. Obviously the lessons were lost upon him. MLK would've been justified smacking him upside his head.

Instead, he just spins in his grave.

[Bluebear]

41. SHAME on him then.

[JerseygirlCT]

48. All the more reason they should be. nt

[hendo]

2. what an idiot

"My policy is don't ask because it's not my business, and don't put me in the position to make it my business"

Oh, because someone invoking thier right to protest peacefully is in violation to everything this nation stands for?

Are there any DUers there than can apply for a permit?

[mach2]

3. Looks like a case of "I got mine, fuck the f**s"

:grr: :puke: :mad:

[Frisbee]

4. "It's not a civil rights issue, it's a personal choice issue."

Excuse the fuck out of me, douche bag, but when people are being discriminated against (or worse) because of it, it fucking well IS a civil rights issue.

[Laughing Mirror]

5. If homosexuality is a "lifestyle", then so is heterosexuality

I did not choose my sexuality any more than I chose my parents. I was born this way.

[DRoseDARs]

32. And Christianity, that's a lifestyle choice. Christmas or Easter events in the city? Not OK, then.

eom

[JerseygirlCT]

49. Good point. You certainly choose your religion

you do not choose your sexual orientation.

[Baby Snooks]

6. Another Republicrat

Another "don't ask, don't tell" Republicrat.

[MadMaddie]

7. Bet he won't have a problem granting the KKK or other like groups

a permit for a march....just sayin..

[MNBrewer]

8. My guess is that he would have problem doing that

He's black (African American).

[MadMaddie]

37. mmm...interesting didn't know that....then he has totally screwed

himself into a corner don't you think.....because when the next group gets accepted......the Gay group will have every reason to go to courts.

Sometimes I think these people have such knee jerk reactions they don't think about the consequences....

[mitchtv]

9. Democrats, pulling defeat from the arms of victory

since 1968. Gays have "no where else to go" ? Is that good enough for you? The Party had better read this guy the riot act, it won't.

[msongs]

10. 4th of jult parades are lifestyle issues, xmas parades, easter parades etc nt

[mitchtv]

11. Birminghamm needs a march, not a Pride parade

a big fat meanspirited march . Oh I wish I could go. We need big names and people ready to go to jail Fuck him this is the USA and this is war!

[matt007]

12. Alabama is hopelessly backward.

Mississippi too. I just worry for the minority and gay people living in those states.

[mach2]

13. But this asshole mayor is a minority. He just happens to be a goddamn bigot too.

:grr:

[mitchtv]

14. Might as well be Moscow

same crud in charge

[mach2]

15. Looks like this mayor has some ethical issues of his own

:grr:
http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/1203412513231020.xml&coll=2

[nealmhughes]

23. The man to whom they refer as "Donais" is Ryan Idol!

I met him once in Omaha, NE and he was a very nice guy, sitting drinking a beer before his "performance" and asked where a good restaurant was nearby for his break. My friends and I took him to a Bohemian restaurant and he had a ball goofing for the few people who recognized him in the joint. He left a very large tip, as I recall.

[moggie]

25. And this

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2008/04/sec_files_civil_complaint_agai.html

[struggle4progress]

16. "Permit? Who needs a stinkin permit?"

[mach2]

17. Fuckin' A. I hope they hold an impromptu 'parade'. I'd go myself if I could afford the gas.

:grr:

[Duncan Grant]

18. Dr. King spent 11 days in jail for parading without a permit in Birmingham, Alabama.

Need I say more?

[salib]

19. Oh, you mean Birmingham, where the KKK gets a permit to march?

[QC]

43. It's a good thing the Klan never marches in Texas! n/t

[salib]

50. Silly.

[QC]

51. Posts like that one merit nothing more than silly responses.

Sorry, but for a Texan to condemn some other place as a hotbed of racism is just a bit much.

[salib]

54. Sorry, but, I was not saying the place was any more or less racist

Just pointing out the hypocrisy of the claim by this Birmingham decision. KKK Yes, GLBT No.

That was the issue, right?

[QC]

55. It's a safe bet that Langford, as big an asshole as he is, is not eager to welcome the KKK,

as Langford happens to be black.

B'ham was doing pride marches for years before Langford ever came along--I myself marched in B'ham Pride back in the 90s.

Google a bit and you will find that Langford, in addition to being a major crook, even by the standards of B'ham politics, is also given to religious grandstanding. This is only the latest stunt by Langford to show his most avid supporters (think Aunt Esther from Sanford and Son) that he is a Man of the Lord. Glory!

[salib]

57. Isn't that always what is at the bottom of the Anti-GLBT side-show?

Praise the lord, and all that rot.

[JerseygirlCT]

47. Talk about a lifestyle... nt

[bluerum]

21. ",,I'm not sitting in judgement,,,," Right. Hypocitical, liar, delusional. A real specimen.

[moggie]

24. So NOW he thinks it's inappropriate to endorse a lifestyle

He didn't feel that way a month ago, when he proclaimed a day of prayer and arranged a ridiculous stunt involving sackcloth and ashes, an endorsement of a particular religious lifestyle.

How can he say this is "not a civil rights issue"? Makes me wonder how he defines civil rights.

[TroglodyteScholar]

26. Baaaaaad news...

Birmingham has a very large gay population (for a southern city). I really hope they march all up and down the place.

[dbackjon]

27. Will Hillary distance herself from him?

As a Clinton voter, she damned well better...

http://www.hillaryclinton.com/news/release/view/?id=3780


And Obama needs to condemn this bigoted crap as well.


Howard Dean needs to push him out of the party - or at least DENY him seating at the convention.

[Ishoutandscream2]

28. Someone tell me again. What year is this?

Our country is still so damned backwards. Will this country ever become truly enlightened? Definitely not in our lifetimes.

[Hekate]

29. Well, they are certainly safe from all Acts of God now, aren't they?

You know, earthquakes, floods, tornados, broken levees... Yup, God will not punish them on accounta them evil gays and their parades.
:sarcasm:

Hekate

[ShadowLiberal]

36. Unfortunately there are people who think that

Unfortunately there are people who seem to think that God's wrath will strike at them if they endorse the gay 'lifestyle'. One of my brothers, who's very religious, was chuckling a few years ago about hurricane Katrina's timing, saying that what was supposed to be the world's largest gay pride was supposed to happen in New Orleans around the time of the hurricane (I think a few weeks after it happened is when it was supposed to be). He clearly interpreted the hurricane as God punishing the city for endorsing the gay 'lifestyle'.

[Hekate]

38. And all those innocent children...I hope for the sake of your bro's soul that he repented of this...

...facile and heartless statement when he saw the misery of so many.

Hekate

[Regret My New Name]

31. Is there a list of other groups who have done this in the past?

Any sort of KKK or those neo-nazi groups been allowed to do their thing through the streets there? If so, then that might a good thing to point out.

[Honeycombe8]

33. It's simple, really, isn't it? Are gay people protected under the Civil Rights Act or not?

If they are, the mayor has no legal standing to deny the permit on grounds that it's a gay group. If they are not, it could be that the citizens have no recourse.

Does anyone know if gays are protected under the CRA? I'm embarrassed to say that I don't know.

[QC]

44. No, we are not protected under federal law.

Or under most states' laws, for that matter.

[Dangerously Amused]

34. Ha! Good luck with that. Wait til the ACLU gets involved.

[Zambero]

35. Since when does granting a permit = "endorsing a lifestyle"?

The mayor's denying a parade permit does in fact violate the constitutional rights of free sheech and assembly.

But then again, isn't this the same state that sent a former governor to prison by virtue of "not condoning" his political party?

[papapi]

39. Oh - My - GAWD!

Just a quick perusal of google 'birmingham "Larry Langford" pride' turns up the most atrocious articles on this dirtbag. How can a creepy crawly like this call himself a Democrat?

[liberaltrucker]

40. Hizzonner has apparently forgotten history

You know, that civil rights "thingie" 40+ years ago.
As an Alabamian, I'm appalled, but not surprised.

Now, if some leader in the gay community had just
10% of Dr King's commitment and testicular fortitude...
..............

Finally, never in my worst nightmare could I imagine
an African-American redneck. Mayor Langford fits that
description. Dr King weeps.

[dbackjon]

42. Kick

[BeautifulHyperwolf]

45. "I don't think I'm intolerant, I just don't condone the lifestyle,"

That's intolerance, you dunce.

[JerseygirlCT]

46. Hey Dumbass: it's not a "lifestyle". You're not dealing with

people who choose to drive SUVs, or take ski vacations, or have a pet.

You're messing with people's LIVES, not their "lifestyles".

Ugh.

[madeline_con]

52. "... inappropriate for government to endorse a lifestyle."

What a crock of shit! Excuse me, Mayor. Explain the "family values" crap the GOP has been blabbing about for years!

[Syrinx]

53. the mayor has reversed his position

Patricia Todd is the first openly gay person elected to the Alabama state legislature.

A gay pride parade planned for next month on Southside will go on as planned, according state Rep. Patricia Todd. Todd said she spoke to Mayor Larry Langford on Saturday morning and he assured her a parade permit would be granted from the city.

The 20th Gay Pride Parade, sponsored by Central Alabama Pride, will be June 7 in Five Points South. The parade is part of the annual Pride Week celebration.

Todd said the mayor has also agreed to meet with leaders of the gay community next week. Langford said on Friday that he would not sign a proclamation for the event, allow banners on city property or sign a parade permit. Langford had said he turned down the requests because it was inappropriate for government to endorse a lifestyle.

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2008/05/todd_langford_says_he_will_all.html

[gratuitous]

58. Glad to hear it - once again, we fight, we win

And as a further aside to Mr. Langford: If you're not going to grant gay citizens the full rights they're entitled to, are you willing to quit taxing them since your government isn't going to respond to their needs?

[area51]

56. "... it's a personal choice issue."

People choose to be gay? I didn't choose to be straight. :wtf: