The Human Rights Campaign is the nation’s largest LGBT advocacy organization, and every year they evaluate cities to see whether their laws, policies, and services are inclusive of the LGBT community. Baltimore got some good news on that front this year.
According to the HRC, Baltimore got a perfect 100 score–much higher than the average score of 56. We were one of only 47 cities in the country, and the only Maryland city, to get a perfect 100. (Actually, we technically scored a 108 thanks to some bonus points we got for programs that provide services specifically tailored to LGBT youth, elders, and homeless people.) The city has extensive anti-bullying policies for schools; there’s an LGBT liaison working with the police; and our mayor led the pride parade last year.
There are a few areas in which Baltimore isn’t perfectly perfect, according to the HRC’s evaluations: Baltimore doesn’t provide transgender-inclusive health benefits to municipal employees, for one. But otherwise, this is exactly the kind of report card you want to see.
