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

Each year, the Human Rights Campaign releases a Municipal Equality Index which 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, Richmond earned a score of 100 out of 100. A perfect score. 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. Richmond achieved a 30 out of 30 for our laws across the state, county, and municipality, and received bonus points for as the state has protections against youth conversion therapy.

Municipality as employer

Cities can achieve points for inclusive employment policies like trans-inclusive healthcare policies and non-discrimination in city employment. Richmond got a 27 out of 28.

Services and programs

This section considers the city’s efforts to include LGBTQ+ folks in city services and programs. Richmond scored 12 out of 12.

Law enforcement

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

Leadership on LGBTQ+ equality

This section looks at city leadership’s commitment to advocacy and inclusion. Richmond got an 8 out of 8.

Where we can improve

Even a perfect score doesn’t mean a perfect city. Richmond earned its perfect score with bonus points and would achieve a higher score from the HRC with a few extra efforts. For example, the city could offer more services to the transgender community + LGBTQ+ people experiencing homelessness, older adults.