The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) just released its “ninth annual Municipal Equality Index (MEI), which is the only nationwide assessment of LGBTQ equality regarding municipal policy, law and services.” According to HRC, “this year, a record-breaking 94 cities earned the highest score,” which is 100 points. The report “rated 506 cities…assess[ing] each city on 49 criteria covering citywide non-discrimination protections, policies for municipal employees, city services, law enforcement and the city’s leadership on LGBTQ equality.” How did Virginia cities and counties do? See below, in descending order.
Perfect Scores – Alexandria, Arlington County, Richmond City, Virginia Beach
High 80s/Low 90s: Norfolk, Charlottesville, Fairfax County
70s: Hampton, Newport News
D and F grades: Chesapeake (61), Roanoke (54); note that Chesapeake scored very well in the law enforcement and non-discrimination laws categories, but other than that did very badly; Roanoke did well on non-discrimination laws, but other than that…not so much.
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