The 83-city survey found most of the cities
have enforceable antidiscrimination ordinances or protections.
Nearly all provide benefits to same-sex spouses or domestic
partners.
WASHINGTON, June 24,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the U.S. Conference
of Mayors (USCM) released its first-ever survey– Building an
Inclusive City: How Mayors are Supporting and Involving LGBTQ+
Residents – detailing the latest ways mayors across
83 cities are supporting and empowering the LGBTQ+ community in
their city. As protections are increasingly under assault by the
Supreme Court and state legislatures nationwide, a majority of the
responding mayors have instituted policies to support LGBTQ+
residents, advocated for new legislation or dedicated staff to
facilitate outreach and partnerships with LGBTQ+ communities.
The survey was led by San Diego
(CA) Mayor Todd Gloria and Madison
(WI) Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, the
co-chairs of USCM's LGBTQ+ Alliance. The findings were announced
and discussed at USCM's Annual Meeting in Kansas City last week. Key findings from the
survey include:
- 93% of the survey city mayors have issued proclamations or
undertaken other specific efforts to recognize their city's LGBTQ+
community.
- 88% of these mayors have supported and/or advocated for
legislation at the city, state or federal level to protect the
rights of and support the LGBTQ+ community.
- 77% of the survey cities have an enforceable non-discrimination
ordinance that expressly covers sexual orientation and gender
identity.
- 51% of the survey city mayors have designated a staff member in
their office or in the city government who is responsible for
working with and handling issues related to the LGBTQ+
community.
In the survey, mayors also provided examples of local
initiatives or efforts: providing transgender-inclusive healthcare
benefits, passing city ordinances prohibiting conversion therapy or
discrimination based on gender or sexual identity and speaking out
whenever there have been incidents or rhetoric attacking LGBTQ+
individuals or the community as a whole.
"The country has come a long way on the rights of the LGBTQ+
community, thanks in no small part to mayors across America," said
San Diego (CA) Mayor
Todd Gloria, co-chair of the
USCM LGBTQ+ Alliance. "But despite that progress, there is still so
much to do, and this survey outlines how city leaders can be and
are supporting their LGBTQ+ communities and fighting for their
ability to live their fullest and most authentic lives."
"This new survey is an important reminder that mayors and cities
have been hard at work protecting the rights of LGBTQ+ people
across the country," said Madison (WI) Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, co-chair of the
USCM LGBTQ+ Alliance. "Clearly, when we look at the national
climate and the wave of anti-gay and anti-trans legislation coming
from state legislatures, there is still plenty of work to do when
it comes to protecting rights and lifting up the community. I am
looking forward to what we will be able to do with these survey
results as the Conference continues to advocate for all LGBTQ+
individuals."
The U.S. Conference of Mayors has long championed the rights of
the LGBTQ+ community. In 1984, the organization adopted a policy
calling for the legal protection of those rights at all levels of
government, making it the first organization of elected officials
to do so. In 1991, it adopted policy calling for granting the
protection of federal hate crimes laws to all citizens, including
LGBTQ+ communities, and in 2009 it adopted policy supporting
marriage equality. America's mayors have been at the forefront of
the battle for marriage equality, employment discrimination
protections, the repeal of don't-ask-don't-tell, decriminalizing
HIV, and against right-to-discriminate laws across the country.
The full survey and report can be read here.
About the United States Conference of
Mayors – The U.S. Conference of
Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of
cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are more than
1,400 such cities in the country today, and each city is
represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the
mayor. Follow our work
on X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads,
and Medium.
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SOURCE U.S. Conference of Mayors