Phoenix, Tucson, Tempe, and Scottsdale Earn Perfect Scores on Promoting LGBTQ Equality

The Human Rights Campaign has released its tenth annual Municipal Equality Index (M.E.I.) scores on how 506 selected cities have promoted LGBTQ rights within their local boundaries.

In formulating the results, the organizers take into consideration the following factors:

• Non Discrimination Ordinances and Laws.
• Benefits like health care for LGBTQ members employed by the city.
• The offering of municipal services to LGBTQ members.
• Enforcing LGBTQ rights and protections.
• Mayorial and City Council have demonstrated support for LGBTQ rights and services.

In this year’s scoring, the Arizona Cities of Phoenix, Tucson, Tempe, and Scottsdale earned perfect scores of one hundred percent.

Those cities and their leaders are to be commended for their efforts in fostering an inclusive and equitable local government and culture.

Glendale, Flagstaff, and Mesa achieved above-average scores of 94,88, and 87.

Very good but still have a little further to go.

Glendale still has to provide health benefits to Transgender employees.

So do Flagstaff and Mesa.

Flagstaff and Mesa also have to work on providing vital social services such as homeless aid and aid to older LGBTQ citizens. Mesa has to improve its HIV assistance programs.

Gilbert, Chandler, Avondale, and Peoria have much work to do to ensure equality for members of the LGBTQ community in their local jurisdictions. Their scores were 73 (Gilbert,) 66 (Chandler,) and 55 (both Avondale and Peoria.)

These four cities scored poorly mainly because it has not secured passage of nondiscrimination ordinances. Chandler, for example, was unable to pass nondiscrimination ordinances this year.

These four low score areas also fared poorly with either a variation of inept leadership or failing to provide critical social services to members of the LGBTQ Community.

Please click here to see how each of these cities fared on the M.E.I.

Commenting on Phoenix’s perfect score for the ninth year in a row, Mayor Kate Gallego stated:

“Phoenix is an exceptional place to live, work and play; a welcoming place built on the principles of equality, tolerance, and inclusion. I take pride in being mayor of a city where every individual can be themselves without fear of discrimination or violence, regardless of who they are or who they love.”

 

Tucson’s Mayor Regina Romero posted on social media:

We still have work to do but I’m proud to live in our welcoming, inclusive city! 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍⚧️ #WeAreOne #SomosUnohttps://t.co/elGpd0723S

— Regina Romero (@TucsonRomero) November 20, 2021

Mayor Romero is correct. There is still much to do. Especially in those cities that failed to achieve a perfect score. But even as Mayor Romero asserts, there is always room for improvement in those four cities that have done well over the last several years.

No one, regardless of who they are, should feel they are not equal to anyone else or think they are not eligible for the same benefits and programs everyone can qualify for.