Jefferson City ranks last out of six cities in the state to provide vital protections to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community members, according to a new study.
The Human Rights Campaign's (HRC) Municipal Equality Index (MEI) compared six of Missouri's cities and assigned a grade to each based on the inclusion of LGBT community members in municipal law and policy.
The other cities in the list include Columbia, Independence, Kansas City, Springfield and St. Louis. Jefferson City received the lowest of the six cities with 10 points out of a possible 100, whereas both Kansas City and St. Louis received perfect scores of 100. Missouri as a whole received a 54, which is below the national average of 59.
"The Municipal Equality Index (MEI) has become an incredible tool for advocates on the ground," said A.J Bockelman, executive director of PROMO, in a press release. "The road map it provides to local officials is a sensible way for supporters to advance basic equality issues and, at the same time, provide education on the impact of these broader issues."
PROMO is a Missouri organization that advocates for the LGBT community through legislative action, electoral politics, grassroots organizing and community education, according to their website, promoonline.org.
The MEI looked at more than 350 cities of varying size from every state in the nation. This is the third annual MEI, and the number of cities that earned perfect scores has increased every year. This year there were 38.
The index based its scores on six categories: non-discrimination laws, relationship recognition, municipality employment policies, inclusiveness in city services, law enforcement and municipal leadership on matters of equality.
Jefferson City has no municipal ordinances that prohibit discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations based on sexual orientation, according to the MEI. However, the city does have polices and ordinances for human rights and discrimination. These ordinances prohibit anyone from discriminating for rental, finance and educational programs based on race, sex, religious affiliation, color, religion or national affiliation, according to Chapter 16 of the city codes.
The city has no domestic partner registry for same-sex partners, nor does the state have any laws that recognize civil unions and domestic partnerships, according to the MEI. There is a state law and a constitutional provision that ban same sex marriages, which are both being challenged by the federal Supreme Court.
The city also has no laws that guarantee equivalent benefits and protections to LGBT community members employed by the city, according to the MEI. The index reported the city does not have any ordinances that ensure contracts are awarded to businesses that treat LGBT community members with equality.
Jefferson City missed out on points for not having a human rights commission, an LGBT liaison to city executives or any anti-bullying policies. There is also a missed opportunity for points because Jefferson City has no LGBT liaison for the police department. However, the city did get its only 10 points for reporting 2012 hate crime statistics to the FBI.
The last category the city failed to score any points with was based on the city leadership's public position on LGBT equality and policy efforts.
"We have a lot of work to do," said Megan Lusk, director of One Love Jefferson City for the past two years. "These findings really are something that actually bring it all right into your face. When you see these numbers you realize that it is a human rights issue and people can be fired from their workplace, people can be kicked out of their rental property or denied loans for housing based off of sexual orientation and gender identity."
One Love Jefferson City is a local advocacy and social group for the LGBTQA (lesbian, gay, bisexual, questioning and allies) community. Allies refer to heterosexual, non-transgender supporters of the LGBT community. One Love has around 200 members.
"We don't have any kind of nondiscrimination laws," Lusk said. "Jefferson City does not do anything. They do not have any resource officer for hate crimes, be it for racial, religious or for the LGBT communities ... but I try to stay positive because there are so many people that support the LGBT community in Jefferson City and who want organizations like PROMO and One Love to be around."