Towns and cities in half of the United States’ 50 states earned ideal scores in an index measuring their treatment of LGBT people, a mark of progress for the historically discriminated community, an advocacy group said on Thursday.
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Forty-seven cities earned ideal scores this year, up from 38 in 2014.
For the first time in the city’s history, Cathedral City received 100 points, the highest score possible. There were only 45 other cities that received flawless scores.
“Detroit is a welcoming city, where opportunity is available for everyone”, Mayor Mike Duggan said in a news release. Rancho Mirage saw its score almost double from 44 points to 89 points after city officials met with the index’s author. The six cities surveyed in OH averaged 87 out of 100, well above the nationwide average of 56.
These cities are proving that they can ensure equality even in states that are lagging behind in enacting LGBT-inclusive laws and policies.
An effort to add protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender residents to Kentucky’s anti-discrimination laws failed in last year’s Kentucky General Assembly session. “So, we are not rating the experience, we are not rating the atmosphere, we are not rating the enforcement”.
The Human Rights Campaign’s annual Municipal Equality Index rated over 400 USA cities in five categories, including employment policies, non-discrimination laws, and inclusiveness of city services.
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Oakley said the laws cities enact or don’t enact are important measures of whether a city is at least trying to be inclusive, though.
