Cincinnati obtained a 90 out of 100 in
the 2013 Municipal Equality Index
released by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) on Tuesday, giving the city a 13-point bump compared to2012’s mixed score
.The city aced categories for its relationship with the LGBT community, law enforcement and non-discrimination laws, which ban employment, housing and public accommodation discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. It also fared well with municipal services and opportunities provided to city workers.
The index also gave Cincinnati various bonus points, including three for the election of Councilman Chris Seelbach, the city’s first openly gay elected official.
But the city was docked for failing to recognize LGBT relationships through a domestic partner registry. Seelbach told CityBeat last week that establishing a registry will be one of his priorities in his upcoming four-year term.
This year, establishing a domestic partner registry would have been enough to give Cincinnati a perfect overall score in the Municipal Equality Index — a strong upward shift from the 77 out of 100 the city received in 2012.
The 90 out of 100 was enough to place Cincinnati in the top 25 percent of cities. The top 10 percent got a 96 or higher, and 25 of 291 cities got perfect scores in 2013.
