The Human Rights Campaign Foundation—the educational arm of the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer civil rights organization—has released its seventh-annual Municipal Quality Index, assessing LGBTQ equality in 506 cities across the U.S., including eight cities in Oregon.
Bend didn’t fare so well.
Bend scored 58 out of 100 overall in the findings, released Oct. 8. By contrast, Portland scored a perfect 100. The bright spot for Bend was a perfect 30 of 30 on non-discrimination laws, but it didn’t do as well in the rest of the categories.
The city scored 14 of 28 in the ‘municipality as employer’ field—which takes into account things like non-discrimination in city employment, transgender-inclusive healthcare benefits and inclusive workplace, according to information from the HRC. Bend scored no points in the municipal services field because Bend has no human rights commission, LBGTQ liaison in the city executive’s office or NDO enforcement by a human rights commission.
Bend also scored zero points for leadership of LGBTQ equality because the city has no public position on LGBTQ equality or pro-equality legislative or policy efforts, according to the HRC. In the law enforcement field, Bend scored 12 out of 22 because in 2016, there were 12 reported hate crimes to the FBI and because Bend has no LBGTQ police liaison or task force.
Outside of Portland’s perfect score, Ashland fared the worst with a 43. The second-highest in the state was Salem, scoring an 86.
The 2017 Municipal Equality Index is the only nationwide rating system of LGBTQ inclusion in municipal law and policy, according to the HRC. For LGBTQ Americans, legal protections and benefits very widely depending on location. Twenty-one states have non-discrimination laws that include protection for LGBTQ people in employment and 20 states have laws that protect these same people from discrimination in places of public accommodation, according to the HRC.
“In this political moment, as we face unprecedented challenges to fairness, justice, and democracy at the federal level, we look to local leadership to advance equality for the LGBTQ community,” Rebecca Isaacs, executive director of the Equality Federation Institute said in the HRC press release. “Equality Federation is committed to our partnership with HRC on the Municipal Equality Index because it sets a bar that most localities want to reach.”
Progress on transgender equality is continuing a positive trend in cities across the U.S. since 2012, according to the HRC. Transgender-inclusive healthcare benefits are offered employees of 147 cities and towns this year, up from 111 in 2017, 66 in 2015 and just five in 2012, the HRC said.
This article appears in Oct 10-17, 2018.
MAKE LOCAL JOURNALISM HAPPEN
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
I wonder who accounted for the two points towards openly LGBTQ elected officials. Oh wait…
I wonder who invited them here, I don’t care what score they give, and I don’t care what they have to say.
They should be treated like the rest of the humans in Bend. Theyre just people no special treatment no extras. This is the problem with America! Everyone singles their groups out..make me special..I deserve extra..actually no no ya dont! You wanna be included then stop excluding yourself to your own. Just be a human. I have gay friends and I let them know when theyre becoming too extra! Stop it. No one likes it. No one deserves more than the next human. Stop separating yourselves out. Its not right.
Hi Scout, No one is asking for special treatment or extras as you put it. There is a reason we need anti discriminatory laws. Gays and other minorities have historically and even very recently faced hate and bigotry on such a scale it boggles the human mind. It must be nice to have such luxurious thinking as you. Let me guess, straight, heterosexual, white male. It is not us who have separated anyone out, it is you and people that think like you. Ive been around for quite some time. Countless friends that I know who were denied housing, health care and even been stabbed, shot and bashed. Just for being themselves. People like you will never get it, you are more dangerous than any nazi or white supremacist or any hate group. Those groups are outright about what they believe. You know better but choose to guise it under the belief (falsely) that we want “special” rights and are “separating” ourselves. Any gay person I know that saw your comment most certainly would not consider you a “friend”.
Thank you “Bendtaxpayer”! You have it right. I am so tired of “poor little ole me, white guys”….who have never suffered discrimination, never had to go to the back of the line, never had to be stopped and frisked because of their skin color, never had to suffer through an abortion because someone raped them, and never been told they can’t use a bathroom because of what “might be between their legs”. I know a lot of great white guys who make room for others less fortunate……but Scout, you just are not one of them. Stop with the lies about white misfortune….you are so privileged that your head is on backwards.
The Problem lies with the disintegration of the human species. There Once was a time we knew exactly what our sexual orientation was by our genetic DNA. But that’s no longer the case. If you go strictly by the science, it is still a constant. But as a society, we somehow have slid down a slippery slope and blurred those norms to the point we may never find our way out back to what was once considered “normal”.
Why no input from PFLAG – Central Oregon?