Omaha Scores Above Average in LGBTQ Inclusion Index

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation assessed Omaha as above the national average for LGBTQ inclusivity in its eighth annual Municipal Equality Index.

Omaha, which scored 64, was the only Nebraska city that was above the national average of 60.

The index looked at 506 cities across the nation, including seven in Nebraska, in partnership with the Equality Federation Institute. It evaluates lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer inclusion in municipal policies and law.

Nebraska cities’ average score was 23 out of 100 points. Lincoln scored 53, while Grand Island was 20, Bellevue was 14 and Kearney was 12. Fremont and North Platte both scored zero.

“This report on LGBTQ equality at the local level couldn’t be more timely,” Rebecca Isaacs, executive director of Equality Federation Institute, said in a release. “There are critical decisions being made about our lives at the Supreme Court, in the federal administration and state and local legislative bodies. If they listen to the millions of Americans represented in this report the answer should be simple: we need protections for LGBTQ people now.”

The index examines 49 criteria covering citywide nondiscrimination protections, policies for municipal employees, city services, law enforcement and the city’s leadership on LGBTQ equality. 

“This year’s Municipal Equality Index shows that across the country, city leaders are working tirelessly to ensure that their constituents can secure housing, make a living and participate in community life without being discriminated against because of who they are,” HRC President Alphonso David said in a release.

Promoting diversity and inclusion to retain and attract talent is one of the 15 initiatives outlined in Blueprint Nebraska, the state’s plan for boosting economic development in Nebraska.

For more information on the Municipal Equality Index, including individual scorecards for each city, visit hrc.org/mei.