a prayer rally at Boutwell Auditorium. The display, part of his "Plan 10/30" series of anti-crime rallies, was intended to show humility and restore God's favor to a city wracked with violence. Anticipating complaints from defenders of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, Langford stated that "the Constitution of the United States calls for a separation of church and state – it never said anything about a separation of church from state." Pride Week controversy Langford injured relations with the Birmingham LGBT community in May 2008 when he refused to sign a proclamation for the annual Central Alabama Pride Parade, an event that has been held on the city's south side every year since 1989. He refused to allow banners on city property for the event. Langford further stated that it was inappropriate for the government to condone a lifestyle. He was quoted as saying: "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." "I thought I had stated my position very clearly. If I were to sign the permit to put up banners on city right of ways I would be condoning that which I don't condone," he said. "To give a proclamation is totally under the purview of the mayor." Lambda Legal, an LGBTQ legal advocacy group, and Birmingham civil rights attorney David Gespass filed suit on behalf of the Central Alabama Pride group against Larry Langford seeking an order from the courts to prohibit the mayor from discriminating against LGBTQ organizations in administering city services. The organization hoped to use a ruling in their favor to discourage further discriminatory practices in Birmingham and other cities where the legal precedent would apply. A settlement agreement was reached on September 1, 2009. The settlement, reached after a federal judge ruled against the city and mayor in their efforts to have the case dismissed, comes after Lambda Legal and local attorney David Gespass filed the lawsuit in August 2008 in the Northern District of Alabama on behalf of CAP based on Mayor Langford's actions in refusing to allow city workers to attach Pride banners on city light posts. Members of CAP were allowed, however, to hang the banners on their own after paying the expense of bucket trucks. CAP members alleged that they had been allowed in previous years to hang Gay Pride banners displayed in