Wilton Manors Receives A Perfect Score in the Human Rights Campaign 2014 Municipal Equality Index
WILTON MANORS, Fla., Nov. 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- When it comes to crafting city laws and policies that treat gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals the same as their heterosexual counterparts, Wilton Manors is perfect. The City was recognized for being a leader in supporting equality with a perfect score of 100 in the Human Rights Campaign 2014 Municipal Equality Index.
The Washington D.C.-based Human Rights Campaign Municipal Equality Index is a nationwide survey of 353 cities that evaluates local government laws and policies that deal with issues such as domestic partnership benefits and anti-discrimination laws on how inclusive they are of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
"It is very challenging to compare and rank cities across the country and all cities' home rule authority should be respected," said Mayor Gary Resnick. "However, the HRC's index could impact tourism, business investment as well as decisions by individuals to live in a particular community. Wilton Manors has long been recognized as a leader in supporting equality and benefiting from diversity with substantial increases in property values and business investment, and we appreciate the additional recognition from the HRC."
This is the city's second score from the Human Rights Campaign this year.
Recently, after receiving a draft score of 82, City Commissioner Tom Green, with the help of Commissioner Julie Carson and local activist Michael Rajner, championed the effort to persuade the Human Rights Campaign that Wilton Manors deserved a perfect score by alerting the organization to some city ordinances that had not been taken into account when the original score was calculated.
"I thank Commissioner Green for spearheading the city's response to the Human Rights Campaign to ensure that Wilton Manors was recognized as a leader in LGBT Equality," said Mayor Gary Resnick.
One such area not initially considered by the Human Rights Campaign in their original score was a recent city ordinance, proposed by Commissioner Julie Carson and adopted by the City Commission, that requires agencies of the city to provide benefits to domestic partners of its employees on the same basis that it provides benefits to the spouses of employees.
Wilton Manors is one of only four cities in Florida to receive a perfect score. St. Petersburg, Orlando and Miami Beach were the other three.
ABOUT THE CITY OF WILTON MANORS
Wilton Manors was laid out in 1925 by Edward John "Ned" Willingham, a land developer from Georgia, as an upscale residential community. It was recognized as a Village in 1947 and incorporated as a City in 1953. Today, the City of Wilton Manors offers all the benefits of a big city from shopping, to hip restaurants and bars, a burgeoning arts community and tons of community events, yet still maintains a cozy, community-feeling offering miles of natural waterways perfect for kayaking, paddle boarding and other outdoor activities. Recently named the "Second Gayest City" in the United States, the City of Wilton Manors celebrates a diverse population of approximately 12,000 residents. To learn more about the live, work and play opportunities in Wilton Manors call (954) 390-2100 or visit www.wiltonmanors.com.
CONTACT: Laurie Menekou, (954) 732-0754 (or) [email protected]
SOURCE City of Wilton Manors
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