On Monday, the Human Rights Campaign will release its 2016 Municipal Equality Index, a scoring of more than 500 American cities based on how inclusive their policies and practices are for LGBT people. This year, 60 cities kept it 100, the highest number they’ve had in the five years the organization has been putting the rankings out. Several also scored nil. (See map below.)
The report is meant to celebrate cities that are passing progressive policies, incite competition and act as an instructive how-to-do-right-by-LGBT-residents guide for policymakers. But there is also some implicit shaming for those places with low scores. “There are some cities,” says lead author Kate Oakley, “where the zeroes land pretty hard.” (For their part, Oakley says they avoid “shaming framing” and think of it more as providing perspective.)