Lexington scores near top in the country for LGBTQ rights; gets highest mark in KY
A national civil rights organization has scored Lexington near the top of all cities for its policies protecting and supporting the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
The Human Rights Campaign ranked Lexington 13th out of 506 cities across the country. That puts it at the top 2.5% of cities ranked in the survey.
Since 2021, Lexington has received the highest score of any city in Kentucky and has steadily upped its score since receiving a 56 in 2013. In the surrounding states, only Virginia Beach and Arlington, both in Virginia, scored higher than Lexington.
Human Rights Campaign municipal equality index reviews cities’ polices, laws and services that affect LGBTQ communities.
Lexington received 95 base points and an additional 19 flex points, giving the community an overall score of 114. A perfect score is 100, but cities can receive up to 122 points in the survey.
Louisville finished second in the commonwealth scores..
The ranking comes shortly after Lexington elected its first transgender person to the Lexington-Fayette Urban Count Council. Emma Curtis will take office in January after beating incumbent Brenda Monarrez in the 4th Council District race.
Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton said the Human Rights Campaign rankings are often used by companies deciding where to relocate.
“Lexington’s leadership, reflected by our (Municipal Equality Index) score, not only shows our residents a strong commitment to equality, but is also seen by potential visitors, and those looking to relocate their businesses,” Gorton said.
“Our focus on making sure we have a safe and welcoming community is good for business.”
Lexington’s scorecard can be found at Lexington HRC MEI Scorecard and the full Human Rights Campaign MEI report can be found at www.hrc.org/mei.
