Mayor Hamilton Announces Perfect Score on HRC Index

October 18, 2016

Friends,

I'm proud to announce that, for the second year in a row, Bloomington has received a top score of 100 on the 2016 Human Rights Campaign's Municipal Equality Index. Bloomington is the only city in Indiana to earn a perfect score.

Congratulations to our many community partners and all the people in Bloomington who work day in and day out to ensure Bloomington is a progressive community. Congratulations, too, to the members of the Bloomington Human Rights Commission (BHRC): Chairperson Byron Bangert, Secretary Beth Applegate, Carolyn Calloway-Thomas, Pete Giordano and Valeri Motley, and Barbara McKinney, BHRC Director, for their outstanding efforts that led to this award.

The Municipal Equality Index is based upon a set of 44 criteria that fall into five broad categories: non-discrimination laws, municipal employment policies, inclusiveness of city services, law enforcement and municipal leadership.

Bloomington receives many awards, but I am particularly proud of this one. It speaks to the value we put on making our community welcoming, fair, just and civil for all. It also shows that here in Bloomington, we are not waiting for our legislature or the governor's office to approve laws that protect LGBTQ people from discrimination. Despite our state's backward public policies on human rights issues, here in Bloomington we believe in, and support, laws that prohibit discrimination against LGBTQ people in employment, housing and all public accommodations.

The full report, including detailed scorecards for every city rated and a searchable database, can be found at www.hrc.org.