Fairness Brings Economic Benefit to Vicco

It's always been true that extending civil rights brings economic benefits to those who ban discriimination. Gay rights in Vicco is no different.

Bruce Schreiner at AP:

Eight months after this tiny Appalachian town took a stand against gay-based discrimination, it's basking in a flurry of attention and even an infusion of much-needed cash. All that hoopla has its openly gay mayor dreaming of reviving a place that had long seemed past its prime.

Out-of-towners occasionally venture well off the interstate to make the trek to Vicco, a fading coal town of about 330 residents where an aging row of buildings lines one side of the block-long downtown. Railroad tracks run along the other side, though trains rarely pass by anymore.

Visitors pose for pictures in front of the Mayberry-like city hall or shake hands with Mayor Johnny Cummings, 51, a chain-smoking hair salon operator who grew up in the town, spent some time living on both coasts, and then returned home.

"I thought the 15 minutes of fame would have been over a long time ago," Cummings said.

Not even close

Shelbyville, Bowling Green, Elizabethtown, Berea, Richmond: What are you waiting for?  What the fuck are you afraid of?  Why are you letting Vicco show you up?

Tell your homophobic, hate-mongering freakazoid Baptists that jobs and economic growth come only to those who join the 21st century.