Dustin Barnes

The Clarion-Ledger

On Tuesday night, Bay St. Louis became the sixth Mississippi city to approve an LGBT-friendly resolution, a signal of the shifting public opinion on this issue in one of the nation's most conservative states.

The resolutions, which have no legal implications, all were passed this year, with Starkville being the first Mississippi city to approve such a measure. Shortly thereafter, Hattiesburg and Oxford approved similar resolutions.

Most recently, Magnolia and Greenville city leaders also passed resolutions that affirm their city's stance on respect for all residents, including the LGBT community.

While these resolutions have largely been seen as ceremonial, they highlight a trend that has been ongoing across the country for the last decade.

Late last month, the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest LGBT lobbying group, announced Project One America, a campaign that will establish offices in three southern states for the next three years. Mississippi was one of the states listed, along with Alabama and Arkansas.

The Magnolia State was chosen because of its lack of LGBT nondiscrimination protections in the workplace and housing, said HRC President Chad Griffin, himself a native Southerner from Arkansas.

So what does it all mean?

The growing number of cities publicly showing support for their respective LGBT communities - along with a greater focus on the area by HRC - means Mississippi is again in national headlines for this particular topic.

A few years ago, a Mississippi school district was called out in the national media for not allowing a lesbian teen to bring a female date to her prom. Shortly after, another district was called out in the state for refusing to print a yearbook photo of a female student, who identifies as a lesbian, who wore a tuxedo for her portrait picture.

As the LGBT movement increasingly becomes the civil rights movement of a new generation, Mississippi was always bound to face additional national scrutiny as the nation's attitude toward its gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender citizens shifts.

A poll conducted by HRC last summer showed almost 60 percent of Mississippians under the age of 30 support same-sex marriage. The same poll also found 64 percent of the state's residents supporting some form of legislation that would ban workplace discrimination against LGBT residents.

When Magnolia's board of aldermen approved the city's resolution, the town of just under 2,500 probably wasn't expecting it would become a hotspot for Gay Pride parades in the future. Instead, as one official pointed out, it was about sending out a welcome to everyone, a tradition that's distinctly Southern.

"Every person is welcome in our great city and I am proud that we have made it clear that goes for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community as well," said alderwoman Mercedes Ricks. "By bringing out the best in all of our residents and visitors, we can continue to be a great place to live and work."