Forty-seven cities scored 100 on the
Human Rights Campaign's (HRC) fourth annual Municipal Equality Index
(MEI), which measures a city's support for LGBT rights.
"While this has been an historic
year for equality, we are constantly reminded of just how far we
still have to go,” said HRC President Chad Griffin.. “In too many
communities, LGBT Americans continue to face barriers to equality,
overt discrimination, and even violence. We believe those challenges
make full equality and strong legal protections all the more
important, and today's report makes clear that hundreds of local
communities throughout all 50 states wholeheartedly agree.”
Cities scoring perfect marks have
increased steadily, starting with only 11 in 2012 and increasing to
38 in 2014.
“Across the nation, cities and towns
are leading the way on equality for millions of LGBT Americans,”
Griffin said. “This year, a record number of communities have
earned top scores in our Municipal Equality Index because they’ve
extended fully-inclusive benefits and protections to LGBT people and
their families. What makes this progress especially remarkable is
that these cities and towns are often going above and beyond state
and federal laws to ensure LGBT residents and visitors are protected
and treated equally.”
Detroit and Las Vegas were among the
cities earning a perfect score for the first time.
Other cities with a perfect score
include Phoenix, Tempe, Tucson, Cathedral City, Long Beach, Los
Angeles, Palm Springs, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, West
Hollywood, Orlando, St. Petersburg, Wilton Manors, Atlanta, Chicago,
Bloomington, Davenport, Iowa City, Louisville, Baltimore, Boston,
Cambridge, Worcester, East Lansing, Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Kansas
City, St. Louis, Missoula, Jersey City, New York City, Rochester,
Yonkers, Cincinnati, Columbus, Portland, Philadelphia, Providence,
Austin, Dallas, Bellevue, Olympia, Seattle and Madison.
(Read
the full report.)