City of Richmond Scores 100 for LGBTQ Protections 3 Years in a Row

RICHMOND, VA — (12-01-22) — Richmond scores another perfect score of 100 for LGBTQ Protections for its third year in a row by the Human Rights Campaign’s annual Municipal Equality Index (MEI) scorecard for the City’s work in LGBTQ protections.

“We are working hard every day to build a welcoming, inclusive and equitable city, and that starts with a commitment to protecting human rights and delivering equality of opportunity for all of our residents,” said Mayor Stoney. “Our commitment is stronger than ever to removing the barriers and systemic injustices faced by our LGBTQ+ residents, and especially LGBTQ+ people of color, and we appreciate the affirmation of our efforts reflected in our 2022 MEI evaluation.” said Stoney.

The MEI scorecard is a national measurement that looks at a locality’s non-discrimination laws, services for LGBTQ people and LGBTQ representation in government.

The 2022 scorecard looked for non-discrimination opportunities for employment and housing, programs like youth bullying prevention and services for LGBTQ people experiencing homelessness.

The Human Rights Campaign scorecard gave Richmond high marks across the board for its non-discrimination laws in employment, housing, healthcare and public accommodations.

The City also scored high points for having a Human Rights Commission and liaison in the City’s executive leadership team and dedicated LGBTQ liaison in the police department.

It’s also well known that the Richmond Police LGBTQ liaison is responsible for the reporting of hate crimes against LGBTQ people in the City to the FBI.

The City also scored another win in its efforts to provide services to the LGBTQ+ community, including its commitment to protect children and teenagers from conversion therapy.

Richmond first reached an MEI score of 100 in 2020 and achieved a perfect score again in 2021. When Stoney took office in 2017, Richmond’s MEI score was 42.

Review the entire MEI scorecard by visiting hrc.org/mei.

Article by: Paul Goldberg, Staff Writer

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