City of Salem achieves perfect score on Human Rights Coalition’s Annual Municipal Equality Index for the 11th year in a row

Mayor Dominick Pangallo is proud to announce that the City of Salem has, once again, for the 11th year in a row, received a perfect score on the Municipal Equality Index by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation. The HRC, the educational arm of the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization, in partnership with The Equality Federation Institute, released its annual Municipal Equality Index (MEI), the only nationwide assessment of LGBTQ+ equality in the areas of municipal policies, laws and services.

"So many in Salem work hard to ensure we have a community where everyone feels safe, welcome, and comfortable to be themselves," said Mayor Pangallo, "I am incredibly proud that in every area of the Municipal Equality Index - Non-Discrimination Laws, Employment, Municipal Services, Law Enforcement, and Leadership on LGBTQ+ Equality - Salem has received the top possible score. I am grateful to the City employees, community partners, business owners, residents, and fellow elected leaders who make this possible by working every day with inclusivity and equity as our focus. At this moment in history, when rights for people who identify as LGBTQIA+ are being rolled back in far too many other places, it's more important than ever to stand firmly together and support ever to stand firmly together and support every member of our community."

This year, a record-breaking 130 cities or over 25 percent of all MEI-rated cities earned the highest score of 100 while 76 cities earned over 85 points despite hailing from a state without non-discrimination statutes that explicitly protect sexual orientation and gender identity. The MEI provides a public snapshot of how committed a given city or town is to LGBTQ+ equality and a framework for mayors, councilors, and administrators around the country with impactful steps they can take to protect their LGBTQ+ residents and staff. The MEI 2024 suggests that LGBTQ+ equality is making significant strides at the local level, establishing a warrant for continued work to advance equality at the national level.

ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN:

Established in 1980 by Steve Endean and originally known as the Human Rights Campaign Fund, our organization was primarily a fund for supporting pro-fairness congressional candidates. In the early days of HRC, there were few openly LGBTQ+ officials in office. In 1995, they rebranded the organization to reflect their expanded programs, research and communications by dropping "fund" from their name and launching a new logo. The iconic blue-and-yellow equal sign has become synonymous with the fight for equal rights for LGBTQ+ people. HRC began a long period of robust growth and became respected as one of the largest and most effective mainstream advocacy organizations in the country. With an estimated 52 million Equality Voters across America, the HRC community is one of the largest and most politically engaged voting blocs in the country. Learn more about this year's scorecard: www.hrc.org/MEI.