Report gives Utah ‘F’ for LGBTQ+ equality, Salt Lake City gets ‘A’
Nov 18, 2021, 1:46 PM | Updated: 1:47 pm
People wave flags and carry balloons during the Rainbow March and Rally along State Street before heading to Liberty Park in Salt Lake City on Sunday, June 6, 2021. The event was part of Pride Week activities to support Utah's LGBT community. Photo: Annie Barker, Deseret News
SALT LAKE CITY — The Municipal Equality Index report for 2021 gave Salt Lake City a perfect score for LGBTQ+ equality. The rest of the state didn’t even come close.
The report from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation and Equality Federation analyzed over 500 cities across the U.S. for their inclusion of LGBTQ+ people in laws, policies, and services. This is the 10th iteration of the report and organizers say the country has come a long way since the first report was generated a decade ago. However, they say more work needs to be done.
No matter where you live, we are working to improve the laws and policies in your area.
To make cities more inclusive.
To ensure we’re welcome everywhere.
Learn more at https://t.co/ZA2WoZ03Z7. #MEI2021
— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) November 18, 2021
The index gave cities a score out of 100 points and issued an average score for each state using the same rubric.
Per the report, Salt Lake City is one of 110 cities across the nation that were awarded a perfect score. For context, there were fewer than a dozen on the first index created in 2012.
“LGBTQ+ people are everywhere—in every city, county, and ZIP code. Throughout its 10 year history, the Municipal Equality Index has been centered on supporting and celebrating the work municipalities do to serve LGBTQ+ people in the places they call home,” says Human Rights Campaign Senior Vice President of Policy and Political Affairs JoDee Winterhof in a news release.
Read more: Cox becomes first sitting Utah governor to visit pride center
An average of eight Utah cities’ scores came out to a score of 53 of 100 points, according to the HRC. The national average is 67 points.
The HRC provided KSL NewsRadio a breakdown of the scores in an email:
|
Logan |
Utah |
48 |
|
Ogden City |
Utah |
58 |
|
Orem |
Utah |
22 |
|
Park City |
Utah |
70 |
|
Provo |
Utah |
40 |
|
Salt Lake City |
Utah |
100 |
|
West Jordan |
Utah |
36 |
|
West Valley City |
Utah |
48 |
The full report is available at hrc.org/resources/municipal-equality-index
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