Dustin Barnes

The Clarion-Ledger

The city of Starkville will offer domestic partner benefits for its LGBT city employees, said Mayor Parker Wiseman today.

The first Mississippi mayor to publicly support equal protection for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender residents, Wiseman's actions on Friday mark the first time in the state's history such benefits will be funded with tax dollars.

The measure was approved by the Starkville Board of Aldermen unanimously.

The benefits include medical, according to the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest LGBT advocacy group.

"Loving LGBT couples should have equal access to medical care, and we applaud the Mayor and the Board of Aldermen for their leadership on this critical issue," said HRC Mississippi Director Rob Hill.

Contact Dustin Barnes at dbarnes2@gannett.com or (601) 360-4644. Follow @DustinCL on Twitter.