(City of Iowa City news release)
The City of Iowa City has earned a score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign’s 10th annual Municipal Equality Index (MEI), the only nationwide rating system of LGBTQ inclusion in municipal law, policy, and services. The City received 12 flex points for additional efforts for a total raw score of 112. This is the eighth consecutive year the City has earned a score of 100 or more.
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is the nation’s largest LGBTQ civil rights organization. Their MEI examines how inclusive municipal laws, policies, and services are of LGBTQ people who live and work there. Cities are rated based on non-discrimination laws, the municipality as an employer, municipal services, law enforcement and the city’s leadership on LGBTQ equality.
Iowa City Mayor Pro Tem Mazahir Salih stated, “This is such amazing news. Eight consecutive years of achieving a perfect score on the Municipal Equity Index is something we should all be proud of. We must continue to work hard to ensure Iowa City is a welcoming place for the LGBTQ community and all people who live and work here.”
Iowa City’s score card can be found here.
The MEI rated 506 cities including the 50 state capitals, the 200 largest cities in the United States, the five largest cities or municipalities in each state, the cities home to the state’s two largest public universities, municipalities that have high proportions of same-sex couples, and 98 cities selected by HRC and Equality Federation state group members and supporters.
The full report, including detailed scorecards for every city, as well as a searchable database, is available online at www.hrc.org/mei.