Durham ranks as the most LGBT inclusive city in North Carolina, based on its city laws and policies. However, even the Bull City scored below the national average.
The Human Rights Campaign, which advocates nationwide for the LGBTQ community, evaluated 291 U.S. citiessix in North Carolinafor fairness and inclusiveness in city laws and policies.
The highest-scoring city in North Carolina is Durham, followed by Charlotte and Raleigh, according to an HRC press release.
A report issued this week, the 2013 Municipality Equality Index, drew on data from all state capitals, the 150 most populous cities, the three largest cities in each state and the city that contains each state’s largest public university. In addition, researchers from the HRC and the Equality Federation Institute scored 25 large, 25 mid-size and 25 small cities with the highest proportion of same-sex couples.
The cities were graded on nondiscrimination laws, inclusiveness of city services, relationship recognition, employment and contracting policies and law enforcement.
The full report, which includes city scorecards and a searchable database, can be found at www.hrc.org/mei.
The Municipal Equality Index
57/100 National average score of 29 cities
42 North Carolina average score
56 Durham
51 Charlotte
43 Raleigh
42 Greensboro
34 Winston-Salem
23 Fayetteville
25 Number of cities that received a perfect score
3 Number of cities that scored 0
Source: Human Rights Campaign
