Arlington Earns Perfect Score On LGBTQ Equality Ranking

ARLINGTON, VA — Arlington County earned a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign's ninth annual Municipal Equality Index (MEI), which measures inclusiveness and protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer communities, according to a county release.

Arlington has previously been a top-ranked community, but this year it received high marks for providing all-gender bathrooms at county offices and facilities, as well as adding gender identity/expression protections to its Human Rights ordinance.

“For the first time ever, Arlington received a perfect score of 100," said Board Chair Libby Garvey, in the release. "We are proud to stand up for equality and to ensure that there is no place for discrimination of any kind in Arlington."

HRC, which is the largest LGBTQ-rights group in the U.S., issues its annual MEI measures to highlight the effectiveness of local governments to ensure inclusion of LGBTQ rights in their laws, policies, and services. HRC ranks communities on non-discrimination laws and how a jurisdiction acts as an employer, as well as its services, law enforcement, and the public position on equality of its leaders.

AGLA, an advocacy group that seeks to improve the quality of life and meet the needs of the LGBTQ community in Northern Virginia, has been working the last several years with the HRC to secure that 100 out of 100 score for Arlington.

"We've worked very hard the last three years to bring that number up," AGLA President Bruce Hightower said. "We are very pleased that it's up. Very pleased that they've taken some of our suggestions and initiatives to change the wording of different types of things in the county, such as the Human Rights Commission Discrimination Act. We're very thrilled."

While Hightower praised Arlington's achievement in improving the quality of life for the LGBTQ community, he acknowledged other issues remained to be addressed.

"They need to start working on their senior citizen and senior programs for LGBT issues," he said.

As an example, Hightower pointed to the efforts of the nonprofit group SAGE, which sets the standards and monitors the quality of care for LGBTQ seniors in nursing homes.

"I think we need to have that set as a recourse in Arlington County," he said. "If you want to do business as a nursing home or assisted living (center) that you should meet those standards because we're really falling short in the elderly population."