Human Rights Campaign releases PC Municipal’s equality index score

Mayor Andy Beerman, Park City Council members, the city's LQBTQ+ task force, and members of the Utah Pride Center and Park City Pride in May. Photo: Park City Municipal

PARK CITY, Utah – The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) recently released its final scorecard for the 2022 Municipal Equality Index (MEI), and Park City’s score matched last year’s rating, which is the second highest in Utah.

The MEI is a nationwide evaluation of 506 cities on how inclusive a municipality’s laws, policies, and services are of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and LGBTQ+ people.

“The 2022 [index] boasts more perfect scores, a higher overall average, 75% of scores better than 51 points, and sustained success in every region of the country,” the HRC website states. “Once again, the MEI has shown that regardless of what’s happening in state legislatures, local leaders understand the ongoing need to ensure that the people in their communities are safe, seen, and served.”

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The MEI is an annual index published by the HRC, the largest LGBTQ+ political advocacy group in the country, with over 3 million members nationwide.

Park City Municipal received a score of 70/100, second in Utah only to Salt Lake City’s perfect score of 100/100. One hundred cities earned the perfect score, while Park City scored just above average.

“Park City has a well-established reputation as a welcoming town for the LGBTQ+ community,” said Mayor Nann Worel. “And we remain committed to listening, learning, and working with the LGBTQ+ Task Force toward continuing to expand inclusivity in our community.”

In 2020, the Park City LGBTQ+ Task Force was formed to “advise on how the City could better reflect its values around inclusivity.” In the past year, the Task Force worked to raise community awareness and visibility in Summit County by organizing and hosting events such as the Living Library public event, holding a two-session diversity and inclusion training seminar for City staff and stakeholders, and decorating parts of the city for Pride Month.

“Park City is engaging in the ongoing work of fostering an environment where the LGBTQIA+ community feels included and valued in the community. Although there is still room to grow, this score is something to be proud of, and personally makes me excited to be a part of PCMC,” said Browne Sebright, Task Force liaison.