Report: San Antonio ranks 4th in LGBT friendliness among Texas cities



Scroll through to see which Texas cities are the most friendly toward the LGBT community — and which are the least. less The Human Rights Campaign has released its annual Municipal Equality Index for 2014, measuring cities' friendliness toward members of the LGBT community.

Scroll through to see which Texas cities are the most ... more The Human Rights Campaign has released its annual Municipal Equality Index for 2014, measuring cities' friendliness toward members of the LGBT community. Photo: File Photo: File Image 1 of / 35 Caption Close Report: San Antonio ranks 4th in LGBT friendliness among Texas cities 1 / 35 Back to Gallery

San Antonio is the fourth most friendly city toward the LGBT community in Texas, according to a new report from the Human Rights Campaign.

The Alamo City ranked with a score of 72 — coming behind Fort Worth, Dallas and Austin — on the national LGBT advocacy organization's Municipal Equality Index, which "examines the laws, policies, and services of municipalities and rates them on the basis of their inclusivity of LGBT people who live and work there."

The city scored 12 points out of 18 for its nondiscrimination laws after passing a controversial update to the city's nondiscrimination ordinance that included prorections for sexual orientation and gender identity last summer.

San Antonio also snagged 20 points for "offering equivalent benefits and protections to LGBT employees, and by awarding contracts to fair-minded businesses, municipalities commit themselves to treating LGBT employees equally" with 2 extra points for having an "inclusive workplace."

The city also scored 18 out of 18 points for "fair enforcement of the law including responsible reporting of hate crimes and engaging with the LGBT community in a thoughtful and respectful way."

For reaching out to the LGBT community, the city received 8 points out of 8, receiving 5 bonus points for having openly LGBT elected or appointed municipal leaders and because the "city tests limits of restrictive state law."

But, the city received only 5 out of 15 points under the index's "municipal services" section, which "assesses the efforts of the city to ensure LGBT constituents are included in city services and programs." Under that category, San Antonio got 2 poitns for providing services to and supporting people living with HIV and AIDS.

Four Texas cities had a total score of zero under the index.

Scroll through to see which Texas cities are the most friendly toward the LGBT community — and which are the least friendly.

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Twitter: @JFreports