Worcester Among 5 Scoring Perfect in LGBTQ Equality

WORCESTER, MA—Worcester was one of fives municipalities to get an A+ (100) in a recent study of equality indexes across the state.

According to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation's fifth-annual "municipality index," which assessed policies and laws in towns and cities across the country, Worcester joins 9 other towns and cities in Massachusetts that made the list, and ranks with Cambridge, Salem, Boston and Provincetown as having a perfect score.

Northampton, Arlington, Amherst, Springfield and Lowell also made the list, scoring between 54 and 88.

The HRC measured non-discrimination laws, municipality as employer, municipal services, law enforcement, and relationship with the LBGTQ community.

This year, 60 cities earned perfect scores for advancing fully-inclusive policies and practices -- up from 47 in 2015 and 11 in 2012.

“This year, dozens of cities across the nation showed they are willing to stand up for LGBTQ people in their communities even when state governments are not,” said HRC President Chad Griffin in a press release. “This builds on a trend we have long observed: that local governments are at the forefront of our fight for equality. Unfortunately, our opponents have witnessed this progress too, and in recent years, anti-LGBTQ lawmakers have pushed spiteful legislation aimed at pre-empting local protections. That’s why it’s so important that we continue to not only fight for equality at the state and local levels, but to enact comprehensive federal protections for LGBTQ people under the Equality Act.”

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