Reno makes HRC Equality Index as 78th city

A perfect place to announce Reno as the 78th city to make the Human Rights Campaign Municipal Equality Index, Believe Plaza.

The Biggest Little City has definitely become a more accepting, understanding, equality minded municipality having raised its Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Municipal Equality Index by 31 points in three years to make it the 78^th  city to be added to the index.  The announcement was made before a small crowd in downtown Reno’s Believe Plaza on National Coming Out Day, October 11.

“We are open for business,” Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve told those gathered for the media event announcing Reno making the Equality Index for the first time. “I am very competitive, in nature. But we want to be a city that is all inclusive and welcoming.”

The Index is used to judge how GLBTQ+ friendly and welcoming a community is based on non-discrimination laws, municipality employment (non-discrimination, Trans inclusive health care, contractor non-discrimination) and Municipal Services (such as a GBTQ+ liaison in the Executive’s Office, a Civil Rights Commission and and enforcement mechanism for the commission).

Reno recently added a Human Right Commission, one of the last obstacles keeping it from getting the needed 100 points to make the index. Beside, Reno, added this week were Atlanta, Milwaukee, WS and Brookings, SD to the Equality Index.

Speaking at the event were HRC State Director  Briana Escamilla, HRC Senior Vice President Policy and Political Affairs JoDee Winterhof, Mayor Schieve, Commander Oliver Miller, Reno Police Department GLBTQ+ community liaison; Human Rights Commission chairman Sean Savoy and Brooke Maylath, president of Transgender Allies Group (TAG).

Read the fully story in the November issue of therenogaypage.