HRC ranks cities on support for LGBT rights
The Human Rights Campaign today released their Municipal Equality Index rating more than 350 cities across the country. The report rates cities on 47 different criteria including non-discrimination laws, recognition of same-sex relationships, relation with law enforcement, and employment policies.
Chad Griffin, the president of HRC, said in a forward to the report, “If the recent developments with marriage equality have demonstrated anything, it is that the legal reality for LGBT people shifts dramatically with every crossing of a state border….In a third of the states with marriage equality, it means a couple who can legally marry risks being fired from their jobs for doing so.”
He called this state of affairs “outrageous.”
The report ranks several cities in The Gayly’s area. The average score of cities nationwide was 59. Only a few cities in Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas and Missouri rose above that average. In Missouri, three cities exceeded the average, with Columbia scoring 70, and both Kansas City and St. Louis receiving the highest possible score of 100.
In Oklahoma, only Norman, with 61, was above average; in Kansas, only Lawrence at 72. Arkansas had no cities above the national average.
The scores for cities in each state are:
Arkansas: Fayetteville (42), Fort Smith (16), Little Rock (13), No. Little Rock (16) and Springdale (16).
Kansas: Kansas City (24), Lawrence (72), Olathe (27), Overland Park (27), Topeka (43) and Wichita (38).
Missouri: Columbia (70), Independence (14), Jefferson City (10), Kansas City (100), Springfield (27), and St. Louis (100).
Oklahoma: Broken Arrow (20), Norman (61), Oklahoma City (37), and Tulsa (40).
The highest ranking scores were in the New England, Mid-Atlantic and Western regions. The lowest scores were in the Southwest and Southeast.
Individual city reports can be viewed at this link: http://www.hrc.org/resources/entry/mei-2014-see-your-citys-score.
by Rob Howard, Associate Editor
The Gayly – November 12, 2014 @ 12:20pm