100/100 for Human Rights Campaign Municipal Equality Index
For the first time, Rockville has scored perfect marks for its commitment to the health, welfare, safety and equality of its lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community on the Human Rights Campaign’s 2017 Municipal Equality Index scorecard.
2017 MEI Maryland Rankings
Rockville …………100
Baltimore ………..100
Frederick …………100
Towson ……………96
College Park …….87
Annapolis ………..65
Bowie ………………61
Columbia …………59
Gaithersburg ……59
Hagerstown …….38
The sixth annual Municipal Equality Index scorecard (MEI), released Oct. 19, analyzes and rates 506 municipalities across the country, measuring them for the inclusivity of laws, policies and services for their LGBTQ communities.
Rockville scored 100/100 on the scorecard, sharing first place with Baltimore and Frederick out of the 10 Maryland towns and cities on 2017’s scorecard. Categories by which municipalities are judged include nondiscrimination laws, trans-inclusive health care benefits and leadership on LGBTQ issues.
One of the Mayor and Council’s priority initiatives is to “Review existing codes and policies based on the scoring of the Human Rights Campaign’s Municipal Index and identify modifications to enhance LGBT nondiscrimination.” A list of the initiatives is on the city’s website, www.rockvillemd.gov/priorityinitiatives.
The MEI report can be found at www.hrc.org/mei.