Mayor John Hamilton announced Thursday that Bloomington received a score of 100 in the 2017 Human Rights Campaign Municipal Equality Index.
This is the third year in a row the city has received the top score, and Bloomington is the only city in the Indiana to earn a perfect score this year, according to a City of Bloomington press release.
Hamilton said this recognition is especially welcome at a time when human rights are being challenged relentlessly.
"We know that we are stronger as a community when each individual, regardless of race, sex, religion, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity, is able to fully contribute his or her talents," Hamilton said in the release.
The national Human Rights Campaign evaluates cities based on a number of factors, including whether a city has health insurance policies covering transgender health care needs, reporting hate crimes to the FBI, enforcing non-discrimination ordinances covering sexual orientation and gender identity and whether city leadership takes public positions supporting LGBT equality, according to the release.
Katelyn Haas
