City of West Hollywood Earns Top Score in Human Rights Campaign’s 2014 Municipal Equality Index
West Hollywood, California (PRWEB) November 12, 2014 -- The City of West Hollywood has scored 100/100 on the Human Rights Campaign’s 2014 Municipal Equality Index (MEI), a nationwide evaluation of municipal laws affecting the LGBT community of 353 cities. The MEI examines the laws, policies, and services of municipalities of various sizes from every state in the country and rates them on the basis of their inclusivity of LGBT people living and working in those cities. This year’s score once again places the City of West Hollywood at the very top of rated municipalities in the nation.
“The City of West Hollywood is once again proud to have received the highest score possible on the Municipal Equality Index,” said West Hollywood Mayor John D’Amico. “We are proud to set the example for cities around the nation as a beacon of equality and inclusion for LGBT people.”
A city’s MEI score is based on its non-discrimination laws, its recognition of relationships, its fairness and inclusiveness as an employer, its municipal services, its law enforcement, and its relationship with its LGBT community. Detailed scorecard information is posted on the HRC website.
Since incorporation in 1984, the City of West Hollywood has become one of the most influential cities in the nation in regard to its stance on LGBT issues — no other city of its size has had a greater impact on the national public policy discourse on fairness and inclusiveness for LGBT people. The City of West Hollywood is a community with a large LGBT population. According to a 2013 Community Study survey of residents, approximately 41 percent of residents identify as gay or bisexual men and approximately 5 percent of residents identify as lesbian or bisexual women. The City has advocated for three decades for measures to support LGBT individuals and has been in the vanguard on efforts to gain equality for all people on a state, national, and international level. The City was also the first city to create a domestic partnerships registry as well as to offer benefits to City employees for same-sex couples.
As the largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) represents a force of more than 1.5 million members and supporters nationwide — all committed to making HRC’s vision a reality. Founded in 1980, HRC advocates on behalf of LGBT Americans, mobilizes grassroots actions in diverse communities, invests strategically to elect fair-minded individuals to office, and educates the public about LGBT issues.
For more information about the City of West Hollywood regarding HRC’s MEI score, please call Hernan Molina, Senior Management Analyst, at (323) 848-6364. For information about HRC’s state and municipal advocacy efforts, please contact Cathryn M. Oakley, Legislative Counsel at HRC, at (202) 572-8974. For the deaf and hard of hearing, please call (323) 848-6496.
Lisa Marie Belsanti, City of West Hollywood, http://www.weho.org, +1 323 848 6378, [email protected]
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