Sam M. Huisache

Policies pertaining to LGBTQ+ Americans and their rights have dominated headlines over the past year. Recently passed anti-LGBTQ legislation has underscored the urgent need to examine the most LGBTQ-friendly cities in America as many LGBTQ Americans announce they’re on the move to more accepting cities, states, and even countries.  The Human Rights Campaign declared a “state of emergency” for LGBTQ Americans and issued a national warning and guidebook, which highlights the ongoing struggles this community faces. We found in prior research that 38% of Americans still oppose same-sex marriage, a sobering reminder that the fight for equality is far from over. […]

Countless cities across the U.S. have a substantial way to go toward being more LGBTQ-friendly. These are the 10 least LGBTQ-friendly cities in America: What stands out in the bottom cities is that they all have particularly low state equality tally scores. The bottom 10 average a state equality tally score of -3.15, which is 119% lower than the average state’s score of 16.7. Seven out of the bottom 10 cities are also in states that have a “Don’t Say Gay” law, one of the most restrictive laws targeting LGBTQ Americans.  In addition, four of the bottom 10 cities don’t […]