The Human Rights Campaign’s annual State Equality Index found state bills advancing LGBTQ rights and protections outpaced those seeking to thwart them.
Feb. 10, 2019
By Julie Moreau
State bills advancing LGBTQ rights outpaced those seeking to thwart them in 2018, according to a new report from the Human Rights Campaign, a national LGBTQ advocacy group.
Last year, 21 of the 201 pro-LGBTQ bills introduced in state legislatures became law, while just two of the 110 anti-LGBTQ bills did, according to HRC’s recently released 2018 State Equality Index. Advocates of LGBTQ rights fared much better last year when compared to the year prior: In 2017, 129 anti-LGBTQ bills were introduced and 12 were passed.
“The last several years, we have been facing an onslaught of anti-LGBTQ legislation in the states,” Cathryn Oakley, the report’s co-author and HRC’s state legislative director, told NBC News, adding that 2018’s tally represented a “huge change” from previous years.
State bills advancing LGBTQ rights outpaced those seeking to thwart them in 2018, according to a new report from the Human Rights Campaign.Human Rights Campaign
In addition to keeping a tally of LGBTQ-related state bills, HRC’s State Equality Index also assigns each state an LGBTQ-equality grade.
“We had a record number of states who scored in our top category,” Oakley said. Seventeen states and the District of Columbia received the highest designation: Working Toward Innovative Equality. On the other end of the spectrum, 28 states received the lowest designation: High Priority to Achieve Basic Equality.
The rankings were based on an analysis of existing LGBTQ-related legislation in each state.
“The strength of the state-based LGBTQ movement is critical to elevate our representation, visibility and equality across the country,” according to Rebecca Isaacs, executive director of Equality Federation Institute, an LGBTQ advocacy organization that partnered with HRC to produce the report.. “As we look to the next legislative session, the State Equality Index should serve as a recognition of how far we have come and how much we have yet to achieve.”
Pro-LGBTQ Legislation
LGBTQ advocates on the state level made progress along several fronts, but nondiscrimination measures and “gay conversion therapy” bans were among the most prevalent, according to the report.
In New Hampshire, Republican Gov. Chris Sununu signed into law a bill that prohibits discrimination based on gender identity in housing, employment and public accommodations.
Hawaii passed a law banning discrimination on the basis of “sex,” including sexual orientation and gender identity and expression, in any state-funded educational program. Washington state prohibited discrimination against LGBTQ people in insurance plans.
Original article at NBC: https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/pro-lgbtq-laws-outpaced-anti-lgbtq-laws-2018-report-finds-n969826
