Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017 | 12:02 p.m.
A new assessment released today shows Las Vegas leading the state when it comes to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer rights and inclusion.
The city of Las Vegas received a perfect 100 score in the Human Rights Campaign’s 2017 Municipal Equality Index, which evaluates anti-discrimination policies, LGBTQ services and other inclusive measures adopted at the local government level. Enterprise and Paradise — both unincorporated parts of Clark County — also received the most points possible.
Henderson and North Las Vegas received scores of 58 and 54, respectively. Both missed out on points for things such as not offering transgender-inclusive healthcare benefits or having an LGBTQ liaison within its executive office.
Mesquite fared the worst in Nevada with 37 points. The majority of those points — 33 — came from protections offered at the state level.
In Northern Nevada, Reno ranked highest, with a score of 87. Carson City, Elko and Sparks received scores of 56, 54 and 51, respectively.
The statewide average for Silver State cities was 70 out of 100. That falls above the national average for states of 57.
Results from this year’s index are similar to last year’s, when Las Vegas, Enterprise and Paradise also received perfect scores.
Henderson received six more points last year, while North Las Vegas had an additional two. Reno and Sparks received six more points last year, while Carson City had 12 more.
Since 2012, the Municipal Equality Index has been released by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, in partnership with the Equality Federation institute.
“This year’s MEI paints a vivid picture: cities big and small, in red and blue states alike, are continuing our progress toward full equality, regardless of the political drama unfolding in Washington, D.C., and in state legislatures across the country,” HRC President Chad Griffin said in a statement.
