The national Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is highlighting local LGBT civil rights efforts with its annual municipal equality index.
HRC rated each city’s performance in five areas: legal protections, employment , services, law enforcement and inclusion.
Hannah Willard of Equality Florida says although Florida lacks state protections, many cities and counties, including Jacksonville, have them.
“Right now sixty percent of Florida’s population is currently protected from this discrimination. So it’s actually unique for a state in the south to have such a large population of folks protected—we’re the third largest state in the country,” said Willard.
A total of six Florida cities scored a perfect 100 on the index.
Jacksonville performed well in every category except one: law enforcement, getting zero out of 22 possible points for a final score of 67.
That’s lower than the state average of 75 but higher than the national average of 57.
Contact reporter Cyd Hoskinson at choskinson@wjct.org, 904-358-6351 or on Twitter @cydwjctnews.