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."

Needless to say, Birmingham's current Mayor has proven controversial before. In fact, he's currently under investigation by the SEC for accepting $156 thousand in cash and benefits for Jefferson County Bond business and benefits.

He also found some recent public transit ads on buses that informed city residents about the area's high syphilis rates offense and had those pulled just last week.

He worried that companies might not want to locate in the city after reading about the high STD rates.....

Truth be told, they may rather skip relocation to a place where the mayor is widely known as a bit, shall we say, reactionary.

Oh, and yes, Birmingham DOES have a viable and active gay community:
Profile of B,ham's gay community at EDGE

For those who care to raise a voice:

Birmingham Mayor's office:
(205) 254-2277

read it all -

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/5/2.../825/624/522108

Then GET you buttocks to OKLAHOMA, ours is June 21 in the city, and June9-14 in Tulsa!

I'm glad to hear my home state's LBGT community is getting more visible. I hope the parade marches to the steps of that crazy state representative Sally Kern who recently made the news with her horrible comments.

Freedom of assembly? I'm confident there's at least one gay or lesbian attorney (civil rights attorney or ACLU member) in Alabama willing to fight this out.

No doubt - if it can really be established he said the sort of things attributed to him in the story, that he wouldn't approve based on the lifestyle. Should be dead bang, in fact. City attorneys HATE dumbfucks like this one.

Jesus Christ!!! With all due respect, and please, please, please, don't take this the wrong way BUT, Why the hell are still gay men living in AL? Seriously, I was listening to Randi the other day when she was saying the kids (not gays, just young people in general) leave places like KY and WV because there are no jobs and they have to go to be big cities in the South which are located in NC and of course, Atlanta, the capitol of the South. Now I'm reading your post and I just thought about that particular show because there is NO LIFE in those places for gay people either. I know it's hard to leave everything behind, family, friends, your roots and start a new life but I truly believe that it is so important to be sexually free, it's essential!!!