Local leaders in Starkville, Mississippi, denied a request to host what would have been the town’s first gay pride parade.

LGBTQ support group Starkville Pride planned the parade for March 24, but on Tuesday the Starkville Board of Aldermen voted 4-3 to deny the request. Sixteen people spoke in support of the event and two spoke against it, according to the Starkville Daily News.

Resident Dorothy Isaac told The Associated Press she was against the parade because “God created Adam and Eve.”

“Do not turn our city into a sin city,” Isaac said. “It should not be this.”

Bailey McDaniel, an organizer with Starkville Pride, said she wished the city could have “been a part of this historic event for Starkville, but they’re not,” the Daily News reported.

“All I can say is that this isn’t the last they will hear from us specifically about this issue,” she said.

McDaniel told the publication she has plans to reach out to organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union, the Human Rights Campaign and the Southern Poverty Law Center to take “action against this.”

“There was no means to deny our application. It was a perfectly fine application,” McDaniel added.

Even Starkville Mayor Lynn Spruill supported the parade, saying it’s “one of those things that shows an inclusiveness in our community that is something I have long said we are,” according to the Daily News.

“We are diverse, we are not divided in my opinion and I don’t want to start having that view of us now.”

Story continues

HRC has already commented on the board’s denial on Twitter:

SHAMEFUL: Leaders in Starkville, Mississippi, have again turned their back on their #LGBTQ neighbors. The city's Board of Aldermen has denied a permit for a Pride parade. 🏳️‍🌈 https://t.co/XloXO8Pzf5 — Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) February 21, 2018

Others have also expressed their disappointment with the decision:

This is happening in 2018.



Starkville denies request for LGBT pride parade | Starkville Daily News https://t.co/5hPxlytmUU — Charlotte Clymer🏳️‍🌈 (@cmclymer) February 21, 2018

Hey, @ACLU? The Board of Aldermen in Starkville, Mississippi, are apparently itching for an expensive legal battle they're sure to lose. Give 'em a buzz?https://t.co/kQyzDWS5zF — Dan Savage (@fakedansavage) February 21, 2018

Friends, this is bigotry so bright you can see it from space. — Adam Steinbaugh (@adamsteinbaugh) February 21, 2018

McDaniel has set up a GoFundMe in support of the “events leading up to what would have been a great parade.” It currently has nearly $5,000.

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

Also on HuffPost

Empire State Building in New York, New York

Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts

John Hancock Building in Boston, Massachusetts

Madrid City Hall in Madrid, Spain

San Francisco City Hall in San Francisco, California

We’re celebrating #LGBTPrideMonth at U.S. Embassy New Delhi by lighting our building in the rainbow colors of #Pride. #PrideMonth pic.twitter.com/PrEzdm5M0d — U.S. Embassy India (@USAndIndia) June 5, 2017

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.