2017 MEI PRESS RELEASE1
City of Miami Beach, 1700 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach, FL 33139, www.miamibeachfl.gov
OFFICE OF MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS, Tel: 305.673.7575 PRESS RELEASE
Tonya Daniels, E-mail: tonyadaniels@miamibeachfl.gov
Melissa Berthier, E-mail: melissaberthier@miamibeachfl.gov
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 3, 2017
Miami Beach Scores a Perfect 100 on
HRC’s 2017 Municipal Equality Index
— City Earns Top Honors for Pro-Equality Leadership —
Miami Beach, FL: For a fifth consecutive year, the City of Miami Beach has earned a
perfect score of 100 points on the Human Rights Campaign’s Municipal Equality Index
(MEI), making it the highest-ranking city in the State of Florida and among the top cities
in the nation
“I am very proud to represent a city that continues to make LGBTQ equality a priority,”
said Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine. “I believe that our outstanding score and the
steps that we have taken as a city can truly serve as a model for other communities
around the world.”
The report on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) equality in America’s cities
by the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBT civil rights organization, rated
291 cities across the nation, including 15 cities in Florida. The 2017 index finds that
cities across the country, including those in Florida, continued to prove that
municipalities act to support equality for LGBT people, even where states and the
federal government have failed to do so.
The average score nationally for cities selected for rating by the MEI was 57 out of 100
points. The average score for Florida cities was 75, which falls well above the national
average. In addition to Miami Beach’s 100 point score, other Florida cities’ scores
ranged from 30 (City of Daytona) to 100 (City of West Palm Beach).
“This score establishes that we are a model of progressive politics and can be held up
as the standard for other cities around the state and the country. The city's score also
lets gay, lesbian and transgendered people from all over the world know that Miami
Beach is still the best place for them to live, work, and play,” said Dale Stine, MEI
coordinator for the Miami Beach LGBTQ Advisory Committee.
The Miami Beach LGBTQ Advisory Committee advises the mayor and commission on
policies and legislation to ensure equality; as such, enacted policies and legislation have
secured Miami Beach a perfect 100 on the MEI. The city commission most recently
passed an ordinance prohibiting harmful conversion therapy on minors within the City’s
boundaries. The City also unanimously passed a human rights ordinance that protects
gay, lesbian, transgender and intersex people from discrimination and establishes a
domestic partner registry and employee benefits; an Equal Benefits ordinance
mandating nondiscrimination for City contactors; and a “Grossing Up Ordinance” that
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reimburses City employees who pay higher federal income taxes because the
government does not recognize their domestic partnerships.
The Miami Beach Police Department also continued having a police liaison to the
LGBTQ community; enacted one of the first policies in the country detailing proper police
interaction with transgender people; established a safe-space business program to help
protect LGBTQ crime and bullying victims by offering refuge; and prioritized hate crimes
prosecution.
The full report, including detailed scorecards for every city and a searchable database, is
available online at www.hrc.org/mei.
The Human Rights Campaign Foundation is the educational arm of the Human Rights
Campaign, America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC and
the HRC Foundation strive to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a
nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.
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