The Human Rights Campaign released the 2023 Municipal Equality Index, and San Antonio 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 US 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, San Antonio earned a score of 100 out of 100. In case you missed it, that’s the same as last year’s score. Here’s a breakdown of how we got here… and how that score might change.
Non-discrimination laws
This category looks at whether LGBTQ+ discrimination is prohibited by law in areas of employment, housing, and public accommodation. San Antonio achieved a 30 out of 30 for our laws across the state, county, and municipality.
Municipality as employer
Cities can achieve points for inclusive employment policies like offering trans-inclusive healthcare and non-discrimination in city employment. San Antonio got a 23 out of 28.
We lost five points in the subcategory of transgender-inclusive healthcare benefits for employees.
Services and programs
This section considers the city’s efforts to include LGBTQ+ folks in city services and programs. San Antonio scored 5 out of 12, but earned bonus points for providing services to LGBTQ+ youths and people experiencing homelessness.
Law enforcement
Looking at the relationship between law enforcement and the LGBTQ+ community, San Antonio earned 22 out of 22.
Leadership on LGBTQ+ equality
This section looks at city leadership’s commitment to advocacy and inclusion. San Antonio got an 8 out of 8, and earned bonus points for having openly LGBTQ+ elected or appointed leaders.
Where we can improve
Even a perfect score doesn’t mean a perfect city. San Antonio earned its perfect score with bonus points and would achieve a higher score from the HRC with efforts like reinstating some of last year’s transgender-inclusive healthcare benefits for employees. The city could also earn bonus points by having laws protecting youths from conversion therapy + offering services to the transgender community.
If you want to get involved, here are some local organizations that support the LGBTQ+ community.
