St. Louis Gets Perfect Score For LGBTQ Protections

ST. LOUIS, MO — A new report from the Human Rights Campaign says St. Louis and Columbia off the most protections for LGBTQ people than any other cities in the state. The civil rights advocacy group, based in Washington, D.C, released its seventh annual Municipality Equality Index scorecards this week ahead of National Coming Out Day on Thursday.

The group assessed the Show Me State's eight largest cities for LGBTQ inclusion in municipal law, policy and services. Overall, St. Louis performed the best with a score of 100 out of 100 possible points. Columbia came in next, also with 100 points, but with slightly fewer bonus points. The authors highlighted non-discrimination laws, LGBTQ services and programs, law enforcement and the city's relationship with the LGBTQ community as areas St. Louis performed well in. The city could still use some work in hiring more LGBTQ employees. Columbia's scores matched St. Louis' closely, but that city could also work on its non-discrimination laws, the report indicated.

Meanwhile, Cape Girardeau scored the worst of any Missouri city, with zero points across the board. Here are the scores for each city in YOUR PATCH STATE.

• Cape Girardeau, score: 0
• Columbia, score: 100
• Independence, score: 18
• Jefferson City, score: 20
• Kansas City, score: 97
• Springfield, score: 19
• St. Charles, score: 39
• St. Louis, score: 100

(For more stories like this, subscribe to Patch for daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. You can also download the free Patch app for iPhone and Android.)

The organization noted that a record-setting 78 cities nationwide earned perfect 100s in this year’s report, up from 68 in 2017. Many are coming up with innovative new ways to protect LGBTQ people, particularly for the transgender community. Health care benefits that cater to the transgender community are now offered to workers in nearly 150 municipalities — up from 111 in 2017, 66 in 2015 and just five in 2012.

“From San Antonio, Texas to Brookings, South Dakota — this year’s MEI again proves that there are no barriers to municipal LGBTQ equality for a city with dedicated, pro-equality elected officials,” Chad Griffin, the organization’s president, said in a release. “Forward-looking leaders across the U.S. are stepping up, protecting their youth from so-called ‘conversion therapy,’ increasing anti-bullying protections, ensuring transgender city employees have access to inclusive health care benefits and protecting LGBTQ people from discrimination in all areas of life.”
The authors said the number of cities earning perfect scores has increased by more than sevenfold since 2012. At least 25 million people currently live in cities that have more comprehensive, transgender-inclusive non-discrimination laws than their state.

The report highlighted achievements in Richmond, Virginia; Columbia, Maryland; Gilbert, Arizona, and Sitka, Alaska, which saw their scores jump by 52, 41, 36 and 36 points, respectively. Milwaukee became the first municipality in Wisconsin to protect minors form so-called “conversion therapy” — paving the way for others to do the same, in the process. All this, even as the Trump administration moves to dismantle LGBT-friendly policies.

“In this political moment, as we face unprecedented challenges to fairness, justice, and democracy at the federal level, we look to local leadership in advancing equality for the LGBTQ community,” said Rebecca Isaacs, executive director of the Equality Federation Institute.Among the other key findings, 103 cities in states without comprehensive nondiscrimination laws protecting LGBTQ people scored above the national average of 58. The average scores in those cities — 83.

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation aims to improve the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (or questioning) people by pushing for understanding and encouraging the adoption of LGBTQ-inclusive policies and practices. The index rated more than 500 cities, including each state capital and the 200 largest cities in America.

Click here to read the full report.

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.

Photo: Marchers at the St. Louis Women's March in January, 2018 (J. Ryne Danielson/Patch)