Victory In Cow Town

Yesterday the city commission of Kissimmee, Florida voted 4-1 to extend LGBT partner benefits to city employees. That may not be earth-shattering news in the grand scheme of LGBT rights, but it’s interesting in that not very long ago, Kissimmee was a literal cow town, just a few thousand folks living on a few thousand acres of drained swampland with their few thousand cows. Then Disney World moved in a few miles away and Kissimmee exploded to ten times its former size, pastures replaced by miles of motels, hotels, and chain restaurants. It’s still a small town with plenty of cows, but now Kissimmee is also populated by Disney staffers and hotel industry folks. I think that means something about yesterday’s vote.

RELATED: Kissimmee is the most mispronounced town name in Florida. It’s Kiss-emmy. Not the more delightful Kiss-A-Me.