— City Earns Top Honors for Pro-Equality Leadership —
For a sixth consecutive year, the City of Miami Beach has earned a perfect score of 100 points on the 2018 Human Rights Campaign’s Municipal Equality Index (MEI) – placing the urban island in the top tier of communities across the nation that, through action and policy, have paved the way in the fight for fairness.
“I am proud that our City embraces actions and not merely words in pursuit of LGBTQ equality, but I look more forward to a day when inclusivity need not be recognized or rated – because it’s universally expected and, simply, the right thing to do. Until that day, we are proud to lead!” said Mayor Dan Gelber.
The report on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) equality in America’s cities by the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ civil rights organization, rated 506 cities across the nation, including 20 cities in Florida. The City was recognized as one of 97 cities to offer equal benefits to same, or different-sex, domestic partners of City employees and their legal dependents; one of 147 cities to offer transgender-inclusive health benefits; and one of 78 municipalities to receive a perfect score. The average score nationally for cities selected for rating by the MEI was 58 out of 100 points.
“We’re consistently building on our initiatives year after year and sending a clear message to all: the LGBTQ community is not only welcome in our City, but they are an integral part of who we are. A win for one minority is a win for all minorities,” added Commissioner Michael Gongora.
This year, MEI introduced new criteria for judging including all-gender single occupancy facilities and youth bullying prevention policies and services – both of which have been recently enacted by the City of Miami Beach. The Anti-Defamation League’s No Place for Hate initiative is active in all six public schools across the city and focuses on fostering harmony amongst diverse groups; thus, creating a safe and inclusive environment for children to learn. Further creating an environment of mutual respect, the City Commission passed an ordinance in June 2017 implementing gender-neutral bathrooms at all City-owned buildings and facilities.
The 2018 index finds that cities across the country, including those in Florida, continued to prove that municipalities act to support equality for LGBTQ people, even where states and the federal government have failed to do so. The full report, including detailed scorecards for every city and a searchable database, is available online at www.hrc.org/mei.
The Human Rights Campaign Foundation is the educational arm of the Human Rights Campaign, America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC and the HRC Foundation strive to end discrimination against LGBTQ citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.
