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8 FL Cities Earn Perfect Scores On LGBTQ+ Equality Index: HRC

Despite FL being in a "state of emergency" for anti-LGBTQ+ laws, 8 cities earned a perfect score for inclusivity, according to the HRC.

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FLORIDA — Despite Florida’s slate of anti-LGBTQ+ laws passed in the past two years, a number of cities in the Sunshine State earned a perfect score on the Human Right Campaign’s annual Municipality Equality Index.

The index was designed by the HRC Foundation to help residents learn how inclusive their city’s laws and policies are of LGBTQ+ people.

Florida is described on the index as being in a “state of emergency.” Recent anti-LGBTQ+ laws include the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law, which limits how gender and sexuality are discussed in public school classrooms, as well as laws targeting drag performers and transgender people.

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But many Florida cities scored high for inclusivity despite these statewide laws. The following municipalities earned a perfect score of 100 on the index:
  • Fort Lauderdale
  • Hollywood
  • Miami
  • Oakland Park
  • Orlando
  • St. Petersburg
  • Tampa
  • Wilton Manors

Daytona Beach was the Florida city with the lowest score, earning a 27

Read more about how each city was scored here.

To compile the list, HRC considered a city’s non-discrimination laws, the municipality as an employer, municipal services, law enforcement and leadership on LGBTQ+ and equality.

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“Cities and towns around the country are stepping up each and every day, finding new and innovative ways to empower LGBTQ+ people in the face of a dire national state of emergency,” Kelley Robinson, president of the HRC, said. Even when anti-LGBTQ+ extremists in state capitals are working to undermine their progress, mayors and city council members keep fighting to make sure that LGBTQ+ people in their communities - especially trans people - are supported and lifted up to the fullest extent possible. This year’s Municipal Equality Index shows the results of their dedication, while acknowledging the increasingly hostile environment in which they must govern.”

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