The Human Rights Campaign released the 2022 Municipal Equality Index, and Nashville is on the list. How did we score?

Each year, the Human Rights Campaign releases a Municipal Equality Index that takes a deep dive into municipal laws, policies, and services and how inclusive they are of LGBTQ+ people. This year’s edition examined 506 cities on 49 different criteria across five categories — non-discrimination laws, municipality as employer, services and programs, law enforcement, and leadership on LGBTQ+ equality.

Based on these criteria, Nashville earned a score of 77 out of 100. Not too shabby. Here’s a breakdown of how we got here… and how we can go even further.

Non-discrimination laws

This category looks at whether LGBTQ+ discrimination is prohibited by law in areas of employment, housing, and public accommodation. Nashville achieved a 0 out of 30 for our laws across the state, county, and municipality.

Municipality as employer

Cities can achieve points for inclusive employment policies like trans-inclusive healthcare policies and non-discrimination in city employment. Nashville got a 19 out of 28, but earned bonus points for city employee domestic partner benefits.

Services and programs

This section considers the city’s efforts to include LGBTQ+ folks in city services and programs. Nashville scored 12 out of 12, and got bonus points for city-offered services to the transgender community, LGBTQ+ people experiencing homelessness, and more.

Law enforcement

Looking at the relationship between law enforcement and the LGBTQ+ community, Nashville earned 22 out of 22.

Leadership on LGBTQ+ equality

This section looks at city leadership’s commitment to advocacy and inclusion. Nashville got an 8 out of 8, and received bonus points for having openly LGBTQ+ elected or appointed leaders.

Where we can improve

No city is perfect. Nashville would achieve a higher score from the HRC with a few extra efforts. For example, either the state, county, or municipality could enact laws against housing, employment, and public accommodation discrimination. The municipality could also provide employees with transgender-inclusive healthcare benefits.

If you want to get involved, here are some local organizations that support the LGBTQ+ community.

How do you think we could make our community more welcoming to all? Let us know.