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By a 6-3 margin, on June 15, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964-a provision that bars discrimination based on a number of characteristics, including sex-applies to discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Aside from the fact that the ruling was penned by Justice Neil Gorsuch, a Trump appointee and replacement for former Justice Antonin Scalia, for decades the most reliable opponent of LGBTQ rights in the Supreme Court, the ruling was noteworthy for at least two reasons.

The first one is that the ruling closed part of a long and tortured struggle to end legal discrimination against LGBTQ people in U.S. history. This effort dates to 1974, when Rep. Bella Abzug (D-N.Y.) introduced the Equality Act in the U.S. House of Representatives. Coinciding with the fifth anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, the Equality Act proposed adding prohibitions against discrimination in federal programs, housing, and public accommodation on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The bill did not even make it out of the review committee. In 1994, the Equality Act was reimagined as the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which primarily dealt with workplace discrimination. It likewise failed to become the law of the land. In 2019, the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives finally passed a new version of the Equality Act. But the Republican-controlled Senate never acted on it. This week, the Supreme Court effectively bypassed this stalled legislative process.

The second reason is that the ruling, known as Bostock v. Clayton County, also changed the United States' standing as the last major Western democracy without nationwide legal protection against LGBTQ discrimination. Until last week, such protection was only available in the United States through a patchwork of state and local laws that did not cover the entirety of the country. In fact, only half of all LGBT Q adults in the United States lived in states that offered protection against LGTBQ discrimination. This situation allowed for some troubling situations. In Texas, for example, a person could legally marry someone of the same sex, but they could also be fired or denied the opportunity to rent a home for doing so. With the Supreme Court decision, such inequity has been addressed the same way most other discrimination against the LGBTQ community has been tackled in the past: through the courts, not the political process.

It is clear that the United States has a particularly troubled relationship with the push for LGBTQ equality. Homosexual sex remained a crime in the country far longer than in any other Western democracy. It was not until 2003 that the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the last remaining anti-sodomy laws, in its landmark decision of Lawrence v. Texas. At that time, 10 states-Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Michigan, Utah, and Virginia-still banned consensual sodomy regardless of the sex of those involved, and four-Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri-prohibited sodomy acts by same-sex couples. By then, most countries in Western Europe and the Americas had long stopped considering it a crime: France made the change in 1791, Brazil in 1830, Mexico in 1871, and England and Wales in 1967.

The United States was also one of the last major Western nations with laws and ordinances barring homosexuals from employment in the federal government, including the military. And it was the only country to conceive of allowing gays and lesbians to serve in the military as long as they kept their sexuality a secret. The United States was among the last Western democracies to join the marriage equality movement. By the time same-sex marriage became legal nationwide in the United States in 2015-on orders from the U.S. Supreme Court-it was already the norm in some twenty nations. Among those were liberal stalwarts such as Canada, the Netherlands, and Sweden, but also places not especially known for their socially liberal policies, such as Argentina, Portugal, and Spain. Even some developing nations, such as Brazil and South Africa, legalized same-sex marriage ahead of the United States.

According to the conventional wisdom, the United States' struggles with LGBTQ rights are rooted in the outsized role that religion plays in American politics and culture. Remarking on this point, sociologist Seymour Martin Lipset wrote in 1996: "Polls indicate Americans are the most churchgoing in Protestantism and the most fundamentalist in Christendom.... [They] have a stronger sense of moral absolutism than Europeans and even Canadians." That is certainly reflected in U.S. jurisprudence, which has been more homophobic than that in most other Western nations. When in 1986 the Supreme Court upheld, in Bowers v. Hardwick, the legality of sodomy bans, Chief Justice Warren E. Burger rationalized the decision by explaining that "condemnation of [homosexual] practices is firmly rooted in Judaeo-Christian moral and ethical standards."

Religion in the United States has also enabled the Western world's strongest backlash against LGBTQ rights. Save Our Children, the 1977 anti-gay crusade led by country-Western singer Anita Bryant, which was famous for depicting homosexual males as predatory pedophiles, argued that "God gave mothers the divine right to reproduce and a divine commission to protect our children, in our homes, business, and especially our schools." Once embraced by televangelist Jerry Falwell, the founder of Moral Majority and the person most directly responsible for bringing the evangelical movement into the Republican Party, religiously fueled homophobia reached unprecedented heights. In his 1980 manifesto Listen, America! Falwell wrote that "homosexuality is Satan's diabolical attack upon the family, God's order in Creation." With Falwell's backing, protections for LGBTQ citizens all over the country began to crumble and the movement to nullify anti-sodomy laws was stopped cold. In the 2000s, a coalition of Evangelical, Catholic, and Mormon leaders likewise came together to campaign against same-sex marriage on the grounds that it would bring about the end of traditional marriage and the demise of the family. The movement succeeded in banning same-sex marriage in 31 states.

That said, the "religious thesis" is not unimpeachable. Indeed, it could well be a distraction. After all, other deeply religious societies have made tremendous progress in advancing LGBTQ rights. Moreover, the American religious landscape has changed dramatically in recent decades as a consequence of rising secularism. As recently noted by the , "In the early 1990s, the historical tether between American identity and faith snapped. Religious non-affiliation in the U.S. started to rise-and rise, and rise." By 2018, the percentage of so-called "nones" (an assortment of atheists, agnostics, and spiritual dabblers) had approached almost one-quarter of the population. The magazine cited three historical events as driving the United States' "nonreligious lurch": the melding of the Republican Party with the Christian right, the end of the Cold War, and 9/11.

A look at the experience of other countries points to more compelling factors behind the United States' slow and agonizing pace on LGBTQ rights. For starters, progress has been hindered by the absence in U.S. history of a major reckoning during which inequality was tackled comprehensively. Consider by contrast the cases of Brazil and South Africa, which like the United States have multiracial populations, a long history of systemic discrimination, and rich religious traditions. In both countries, brand-new constitutions intended to address past discrimination (Brazil's in 1988 and South Africa's in 1996) made any form of inequality unlikely to survive constitutional scrutiny. In the United States, by contrast, social movements striving for equality have had to seek to achieve their rights through the same constitution that once justified their oppression.

To be sure, many marginalized groups in the United States, including LGBTQ people, have found success in the courts under the 14th Amendment mandating equal protection under the law. But piecemeal litigation is expensive, time-consuming, and the battle is usually accompanied by a backlash. After the Supreme Court ruled in Lawrence v. Texas that sodomy laws were unconstitutional, public support for homosexuality plummeted. According to a Gallup poll in July 2003, just one month after Lawrence v. Texas was announced, only 48 percent of respondents believed that gay and lesbian sex should be legal, down from 60 percent two months before. Anti-LGBTQ rights activists seized the moment to launch a campaign to ban same-sex marriage at the state and federal levels.

Similarly, since Obergefell v. Hodges legalized same-sex marriage in 2015, the right has fought back with a vengeance. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, from 2013 to 2017, legislatures across the United States have introduced 348 bills, 23 of which have become law, that could limit or undermine LGBTQ rights. At least 70 bills came in the first half of 2017 alone, a steep increase from previous years. Many of these measures fall under the category of "religious freedom restoration acts," which exempt individuals, businesses, and organizations from any governmental regulation that would force them to violate sincerely held religious beliefs.

Another important comparative point is how timid U.S. political parties have been in embracing LGBTQ equality. Britain's Labour Party decriminalized homosexuality in England and Wales in 1967, two years before the Stonewall Riots, while the Conservative Party-led government legalized same-sex marriage in 2013. By contrast, the Democratic Party only embraced same-sex marriage in 2012, and Trump is running for reelection on a Republican Party platform against same-sex marriage and in favor of gay conversion therapy. The lack of bold party leadership on LGBTQ issues in the United States has meant that the LGBTQ movement has had to fend for itself politically. It has also meant that LGBTQ equality has been undercut by other social movements.

During the 1960s, for example, gay African-Americans were sidelined in the civil rights movement. This was most famously the case of Bayard Rustin, recognized as the chief strategist behind the 1963 March on Washington. He resigned from Martin Luther King Jr.'s staff amid persistent rumors about his sexuality. Rustin, who was openly gay, had been arrested and jailed for 60 days in 1953 on charges of "lewd vagrancy," after being caught having sex with another man in a parked car. Rustin, who died in 1987, has only recently begun to receive recognition for his contribution to the civil rights movement. In 2013, President Barack Obama honored Rustin with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Earlier this year, California Gov. Gavin Newsom granted Rustin a posthumous pardon.

The 1970s likewise witnessed a war within the feminist movement over whether lesbians belonged in the movement. Some feminist leaders, such as Betty Friedan, the co-founder of the National Organization for Women (NOW), opposed the inclusion of lesbians in the organization, fearing that "man-hating" lesbians would hinder the cause of feminism. In the end, NOW embraced the struggle for lesbian rights, but the split within the feminist movement was exploited by the Christian right to attack both lesbian rights and the feminist movement as a whole.

Finally, LGBTQ equality in the United States has been hindered by the absence of a compelling language with which to wage the struggle. Across Western Europe and Latin America, LGBTQ movements have availed themselves of the inspiring language of human rights to secure their rights, including same-sex marriage. But in the United States, demands for equality rooted in human rights have fallen flat, given the success by conservatives in positioning international human rights efforts as un-American-a strange claim considering that prominent Americans played leading roles in drafting the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Writing about the African American experience with human rights, historian Carol Anderson noted that attacks on human rights as a foreign corruption of American ideals "systematically eliminated human rights as a viable option for the mainstream African American leadership."

Surely, we should rejoice in the U.S. Supreme Court doing the right thing in banning anti-LGBTQ discrimination. But this should not blind us to the fact that the struggle for equality in the United States has been harder and caused more anguish to the LGBTQ community than almost anywhere else in the West. And like past rulings advancing LGBTQ equality, this new one banning discrimination could well provoke another backlash. For a country that regards itself as the cradle of freedom, this is not something to be proud of.

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The Real Reason the United States Lags on LGBTQ Rights

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By a 6-3 margin, on June 15, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964-a provision that bars discrimination based on a number of characteristics, including sex-applies to discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

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The number of anti-LGBTQ hate groups soared 43 percent last year, rising from 49 groups in 2018 to 70 in 2019, according to a recent report from the Southern Poverty Law Center.

"Groups that vilify the LGBTQ community, in fact, represented the fastest-growing sector among hate groups in 2019," the report states. The SPLC found the surge in anti-LGBTQ groups occurred amid an overall decrease in hate groups last year, which dropped to 940 from an all-time high of 1,020 in 2018.

The report said the surge was "possibly fueled by continued anti-LGBTQ sentiment and policy emanating from government officials," largely attributing it to the Trump administration.

"Anti-LGBTQ groups have become intertwined with the Trump administration, and - after years of civil rights progress and growing acceptance among the broader American public - anti-LGBTQ sentiment within the Republican Party is rising," the report states. "Though Trump promised during his campaign to be a 'real friend' to the LGBTQ community, he has fully embraced anti-LGBTQ hate groups and their agenda of dismantling federal protections and resources for LGBTQ people."

In a statement sent to NBC News, White House spokesman Judd Deere called SPLC a "far-left smear organization" and said its "comments are disgusting." He also pointed to the president's track record on LGBTQ issues, saying Trump has "fought for inclusion and repeatedly condemned hate and violence."

"While the radical left has pushed false accusations that LGBTQ Americans are threatened, the president has hired and promoted LGBTQ Americans to the highest levels of government, including positions at the White House, Cabinet agencies and ambassadorships," Deere said. "He launched a global campaign to decriminalize homosexuality. ... And the president has made the bold declaration that we are committed to ending HIV transmissions in the United States within 10 years."

Who are these 'hate groups'?

The Southern Poverty Law Center defines a hate group as "an organization that - based on its official statements or principles, the statements of its leaders, or its activities - has beliefs or practices that attack or malign an entire class of people, typically for their immutable characteristics."

Most of the growth in new anti-LGBTQ hate groups, SPLC's report found, comes from grassroots churches.

One example is the expansion in the network of churches run by Steven Anderson. Anderson runs Faithful World Baptist Church, in Tempe, Arizona, which has been listed as a hate group by the SPLC for some time. The church, according to its website, believes "homosexuality is a sin and an abomination which God punishes with the death penalty."

Faithful World Baptist Church did not respond to NBC News' request for comment.

Many of the 70 "anti-LGBTQ hate groups" in SPLC's report are well established.

One of the best known is the Family Research Council, which was founded in 1983 and hosts the annual Value Voters Summit for conservative politicians and thousands of participants each year. At last year's summit, President Donald Trump repeated his opposition to the Equality Act, a bill passed by the House that would extend federal nondiscrimination protections to LGBTQ people.

Lecia Brooks, an SPLC spokesperson, told NBC News that the council's long-time president, Tony Perkins, has been granted "unfettered access" to the Trump administration. Notably, Perkins was appointed to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

Following Perkins' appointment to the independent, bipartisan commission, the national LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD compiled a list of more than 30 examples of Perkins' and FRC's opposition to the rights of LGBTQ people in the U.S. and abroad. Among those examples are a comparison of same-sex marriage to a marriage between " a man and his horse"; calling the "It Gets Better" project, an initiative designed to help LGBTQ young people cope with bullying and marginalization, " disgusting" and a "concerted effort" to recruit kids into the gay "lifestyle"; and claiming that the "blood" of "young Marines" would be on the hands of lawmakers who voted to repeal the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

The Family Research Council did not respond to a request for comment.

Another "anti-LGBTQ hate group" named in the report is the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian legal group with attorneys across the country and a long track record of litigating against LGBTQ rights.

In a lawsuit that made national headlines last year, ADF represented Jack Phillips, a Christian baker who refused to make a cake for a gay wedding, in a narrow victory at the Supreme Court. ADF is also involved in another Supreme Court case dealing with LGBTQ workers rights, representing a Detroit funeral home that fired an employee after she informed the home that she was undergoing a gender transition. Among its non-Supreme Court cases, ADF is currently representing three athletes in a suit against the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference, which adopted a policy allowing transgender girls to compete in interscholastic sports with cisgender high school girls.

The Trump administration has backed ADF in all three cases, issuing briefs in support of the Christian baker, the funeral home owner and the three cisgender high school athletes.

Jeremy Tedesco, ADF's senior counsel and vice president of U.S. advocacy, slammed the Southern Poverty Law Center and the timing of its new report, which was released March 18.

"It is appalling that the Southern Poverty Law Center would choose this time of national emergency to launch their divisive and false 'hate report,'" Tedesco told NBC News. "We call on SPLC to retract the report, stop sowing division and join the rest of America against our common foe: COVID-19."

Brooks dismissed criticisms of SPLC releasing its annual report during the coronavirus pandemic.

"Fighting hate is something we have to keep at the forefront of our minds," she said. "They don't take a break, and we don't take a break either."

Westboro Baptist Church, known for its public protests that consistently feature signs with homophobic messages like "God Hates Fags," also appears on the SPLC's list. In 2019, the group picketed Morehouse College and Spelman College after the two historically black, single-sex institutions changed their admissions policy to include transgender students.

Jonathan Phelps, a spokesperson for the church, told NBC News that the SPLC is "not being honest" in their characterization of the Westboro Baptist Church as a hate group.

"We don't discriminate. Whatever your favorite sin is, if you ask us about it we are going to articulate in the plainest language possible what the Lord Jesus Christ has said about it," he said. Regarding homosexuality, "it is an abomination," Phelps added.

Brooks said SPLC stands by its "hate group" designations and dismissed criticisms that the organization disproportionately focuses on religious groups.

"We are not against Christian groups," Brooks said. "For us, it's more about the way they go out of their way to demonize LGBTQ folks."

Brooks also lamented the lack of public pushback against many of these groups.

"Sadly, there is not enough public outcry against anti-LGBTQ groups because we have just let it go saying, 'That's just their religion,'" she said.

History of 'anti-LGBTQ hate'

The SPLC has been tracking the number of hate groups in the United States since 1990, but the anti-LGBTQ movement emerged decades before.

According to Tina Fetner, a sociology professor at Canada's McMaster University, anti-LGBTQ activists began organization "not too long after Stonewall," the 1969 uprising at the Stonewall Inn, a New York City gay bar.

"Along the same lines that you see today, they put forward stereotypes and vilify, especially gay men, as predators and predators of children, and use that to justify the tactics of taking rights way from LGBTQ people," Fetner explained.

Fetner cited as an early example the activism of Anita Bryant in Florida. The singer-turned-anti-gay-activist was behind the " Save Our Children " campaign, which in 1977 helped overturn a newly passed local ordinance in Miami-Dade County that prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, housing and public services.

"It caught on with socially conservative evangelical communities, and sort of blossomed and became the lead issue of the Religious Right," Fetner said.

The late 1970s also saw the emergence of Jerry Falwell's Moral Majority, a political action group that wielded significant influence in the Republican Party. Fetner said Falwell realized early on that raising issues of sexuality was both "titillating and scandalous" enough to prompt followers to make sizable donations to his organization.

"The Religious Right really inserted itself into the Republican Party in the '80s and '90s and has had an influence in American politics ever since," she added. However, Fetner said the movement began to decline in the 1990s.

"Young evangelicals weren't as interested in anti-gay activism as the older folks," she said. At the same time, acceptance of homosexuality was on the rise in the U.S., across all segments of the population. "People were actually changing their minds."

By the early 2000s, the U.S. reached a tipping point for acceptance of homosexuality, according to a Pew study, and by 2016, LGBTQ advocates had solidified many civil rights gains, such as the legalization of same-sex marriage.

Why are we seeing a surge?

So, what changed?

"Trump's embrace of these groups, their leaders and their policy agenda fuels this growth," Brooks said of the rise in "anti-LGBTQ hate groups."

The report points to significant staffing and policy choices by the Trump administration that reflect the position of organizations on the SPLC's growing anti-LGBTQ list.

Since taking office, the Trump administration has rolled back several protections for LGBTQ people through executive orders, including nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ workers employed by federal contractors.

"The administration has consistently claimed that laws and regulations that prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex do not apply to LGBTQ people and has worked to install religious exemptions to civil rights laws," the report states.

In addition, nearly one third of the administration's judicial nominees boast anti-LGBTQ track records, according to a report by Lambda Legal.

"Religious conservatives have taken this as an opportunity to push back on any civil rights gains LGBTQ folks have made," Brooks said. "They couch it in 'religious freedom,'" she added.

Fetner sees the surge in anti-LGBTQ groups as part of a broader increase of right-wing extremism across Europe and North America.

"I think that anti-gay activism is swept up as part of this new social embrace of intolerance and right-wing attitudes of all kinds," Fetner said.

"People are disgruntled, going online, getting misinformation and getting radicalized," she added. "Some portion of these people are joining new organizations or new churches."

Fetner sees the Trump administration is both the outcome of this broader phenomenon, and a catalyst for increased anti-LGBTQ activism.

"Trump's win was a signal to these larger social forces that this is their moment," she said.

What's the impact?

Anti-LGBTQ groups have a significant impact on policy outcomes, social violence and the priorities of LGBTQ advocacy organizations, according to civil rights advocates and scholars.

"Extremist ideas long believed outside of the realm of legitimate politics are penetrating deeply into the mainstream, spawning public policies that target immigrants, LGBTQ people and Muslims," the report states.

These policies, according to advocates, include the reinstatement of the transgender military ban, the elimination of nondiscrimination protections for trans people in homeless shelters and, the deletion of "sexual orientation" from the Interior Department's anti-discrimination guidelines.

Shannon Minter, legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said this "pattern of escalating attacks has put the LGBT movement on the defensive" and caused advocacy groups to invest a "tremendous amount of resources to deal with these attacks."

Minter pointed to the work being done at the state level to block what he called an "unprecedented blizzard of state laws" targeted at transgender people. These include efforts to prohibit transgender health care for minors, prevent trans students from participating in girls sports and barring trans people from changing the gender markers on their identification documents.

Fetner said most LGBTQ advocacy groups are funded at "a fraction of the Religious Right groups that were proposing these initiatives." She said that means they're "sucked into these battles where their very right to exist is on the table again," and they're "putting out fires that have been started by better resourced organizations."

The SPLC report and LGBTQ advocates also connect the surge in "anti-LGBTQ hate groups" to violence against LGBTQ people.

The FBI's most recent Hate Crime Statistics report, released in November, found nearly 20 percent of all reported hate crimes in 2018 were motivated by anti-LGBTQ bias. While reported anti-LGBTQ hate crimes grew from 2017 to 2018, the most growth was seen in reports of anti-trans violence, which increased 34 percent year-over-year.

"I don't think the anti-LGBTQ movement will win, but the damage they can do along the way is substantial," Fetner said. Despite this, she remains optimistic, saying, "The LGBTQ movement will carry on and will come out of it stronger."
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Anti-LGBTQ hate groups on the rise in U.S., report warns

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The number of anti-LGBTQ hate groups soared 43 percent last year, rising from 49 groups in 2018 to 70 in 2019, according to a recent report from the Southern Poverty Law Center. "Groups that vilify the LGBTQ community, in fact, represented the fastest-growing sector among hate groups in 2019," the report states.

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Homophobia and the LGBT Community

Open hostility against the LGBT community is less severe in the US than in many other countries, but unfortunately bullying, harassment, and sometimes even violence against people based on their real or perceived sexual orientation does occur. Whether or not you need to worry about harassment largely depends on where in the US you live. People living in rural areas and small towns, as well as much of the South and Midwest, are known for being intolerant of LGBT individuals, whereas people in many big cities, such as San Francisco, are known for being very open and accepting.

General public acceptance of the LGBT community continues to increase each year, but a large proportion of the US population is still opposed to guaranteeing homosexuals equal rights in all areas of life. Unfortunately, these groups, which are usually religiously and politically conservative, generally show very strong opposition. Although the LGBT community continues to gain more rights each year and same-sex marriage is now legal in 18 states, a very vocal group continues to proclaim that the future of the American family and the very natural order itself are threatened by these changes.

Homophobia is a particularly troubling problem when it comes to LGBT youths. Eight out of ten LGBT students report being bullied in school because of their sexual orientation, which can have devastating psychological effects then and later in life. The rights of transgender people are often less clearly defined by US laws, making gender discrimination on the basis of gender identity a prevalent problem in the courtroom, workplace, schools, etc.

Hate Groups

Although most forms of discrimination in the US are nonviolent, there are over 1,000 known hate groups in the US. These include neo-Nazis, white nationalists, racist skinheads, border vigilantes, and black separatists. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) monitors all these groups and other extremists, and exposes any illegal activity to the federal government. They also offer support to victims of hate crimes and other forms of discrimination by these groups. For an overview of hate groups in the US, where they are located, and the legal action that has been taken against them, as well as the work that is being done to promote tolerance of all people, visit the website of the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Hate Crimes

The FBI publishes an annual report on the number of hate crimes committed in the US in the previous year. According to the report, there were 5,796 separate hate crime incidents reported in 2012. As hate crimes are notoriously under-reported, however, since they are not always classified as such by reporting officers, the actual number is probably considerably higher. A total of 48.3% of these crimes were racially motivated, 19.6% occurred because of sexual-orientation bias, 19% were a result of religious discrimination, 11.5% were prompted by a person's perceived national origin or ethnicity, and the remaining 1.6% were perpetrated against people with disabilities.

Members of the LGBT community (when considered as a proportion of the total population) are the most likely minority group to be a victim of a violent hate crime. This minority group is followed by Jews, African Americans, Muslims, and Hispanics. Whenever a certain issue becomes very emotionally charged in the US, a spike in the number of hate crimes can be noticed, as with Muslims after the 9/11 attacks or people of Hispanic descent in light of the current national anti-immigration debate.

As a majority of expats live in cities in more tolerant areas of the country, members of the expat community will usually not need to worry about becoming a victim of a hate crime. Nevertheless, it is still important to stay up to date on what is happening on a local and national level.

Reporting Civil Rights Violations

Many laws are in place to protect the civil rights of all people in the US, regardless of their sex, race, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation. If you think your civil rights have been violated, the US Department of Justice website has information on the respective government agency to file the complaint with, depending on which category it falls under. These categories are:

Criminal violations (hate crimes, human trafficking, threats or use of force to interfere with access to reproductive care or with the exercise of religious beliefs, etc.)

Disability rights

Educational opportunities

Job discrimination and unfair employment practices

Housing and civil enforcement (housing discrimination, credit discrimination, etc.)

Voting rights violations

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Open hostility against the LGBT community is less severe in the US than in many other countries, but unfortunately bullying, harassment, and sometimes even violence against people based on their real or perceived sexual orientation does occur. Whether or not you need to worry about harassment largely depends on where in the US you live.

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When you're searching for a place to call home, one of the most important aspects to consider is your compatibility with an area's culture and values. In a nation as diverse as the United States, attitudes on a wide array of social issues can vary significantly from coast to coast, and Americans frequently choose to live near those who agree with them on important personal ideals.

As part of our series looking at the Best Places to Live, we decided to look at the language Americans use when tweeting about different races, ethnicities, genders, religions, and sexual orientations. Where did tweets trend toward neutral or positive language - terms that aren't typically accompanied by negative connotations - and where was bigoted or historically mean-spirited terminology more common?

We looked at terms that run the gamut from P.C. to just plain prejudiced, and we found over 12 million tweets from June 2014 to December 2015 - more than enough to tell a fascinating story of American attitudes across the nation. Where possible, we attempted to analyze the results within local context, as interpreting these findings requires attention to regional events, trends, and culture. Keep reading to discover which states are tweeting the most about their social viewpoints - for better or worse.

A National Look At Derogatory And Prejudiced Language

Before breaking down our analysis into different categories of language, we took an overall look at the state-by-state usage rates of all derogatory language included in our study. This includes slurs and other prejudiced language against black people, Hispanic/Latino people, women, gays and lesbians, transgender people, people with disabilities, and the overweight.

Altogether, Louisiana places first with 1,155 slur-containing tweets out of every 100,000, indicating that approximately 1 in 87 tweets originating from Louisiana over the studied time period contained at least one of these slurs. In second is Nevada with 929, and Texas is nearly tied with 925 such tweets per 100,000.

These high-ranking states are geographically diverse. Not only are Gulf Coast states like Louisiana and Texas represented, but also Northeastern states such as Maryland, Delaware, and Rhode Island, as well as Ohio and Michigan in the Midwest and California on the West Coast.

Not all states were so vocal in their use of slurs and pejorative language. Ranking last in the nation, Wyoming used these terms in only 120 per 100,000 tweets - barely a tenth the rate of top-ranking Louisiana. Neighboring Montana, with 121, is nearly tied for last place.

Other Western and Midwestern states, such as South Dakota (192), Idaho (232), Minnesota (284), North Dakota (290), and Wisconsin (298), appeared among the bottom 10 as well. Southern and Northeastern states like Arkansas (244), Vermont (176), and Maine (288) also had some of the lowest levels of derogatory language use. As with the states that used these terms the most frequently, these states are spread across the nation. We'll take a closer look at what kind of language is being used the most in these states and others, and see which patterns emerge.

Anti-Black Slurs

In terms of open expressions of prejudice, it doesn't get much more obvious than publicly using racial slurs against black people. We searched Twitter for instances of several slurs, including the N-word. One positive sign is that, in absolute numbers, openly tweeting these anti-black slurs is an uncommon behavior. Over the time span of June 2014 to December 2015, most U.S. states made tweets containing these slurs merely hundreds of times.

However, the difference in usage rates among states is striking. West Virginia shows the highest rate by far, with 83.2 per 100,000 tweets containing these slurs. In second and third place are Maryland and Louisiana, with 36.5 and 31.3 per 100,000. Excluding states with very small sample sizes, Idaho places last with 2.4 tweets per 100,000, followed by Maine with 2.7.

How well do these statistics represent actual anti-black sentiment in a given area? A 2015 study of regional Google searches for the N-word showed very high levels of searches in most parts of both West Virginia and Louisiana as well as low levels in Idaho and Maine. But for a more complete view of these trends, we've also taken a closer look at the city-level data.

Looking at the top cities for usage rates of these slurs, one trend is clear. The most highly ranked cities - Baltimore, Atlanta, and New Orleans - are also those with some of the highest proportions of black residents.

When we look at the usage of more neutral language in tweets, such as "black people," "black person," and "African American," a complementary picture emerges. The states with the highest rates of usage - 125.7 per 100,000 tweets for Maryland, followed by Georgia and Louisiana - also have some of the biggest black populations. In general, states with the most black people appear to show the most usage of neutral language for black people. Meanwhile, Wyoming and South Dakota - states with extremely low populations of black people - exhibit the lowest frequency of neutral-language tweets, at merely 7.2 and 8.4 per 100,000.

Trends in Anti-Hispanic/Latino Language

We also tallied up the usage of anti-Hispanic/Latino slurs in tweets. Similar to anti-black language, these terms were somewhat rare overall, occurring only in the double or triple digits for most states. Those states that did rank the highest - California at 8.7 slur-containing tweets per 100,000, followed by Texas, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico - exhibit a clear pattern: They're also the top five states with the largest Hispanic/Latino proportion of their populations. In recent years, these states have been at the epicenter of controversies over undocumented immigration from Mexico and Central America. At the same time, states with low Hispanic/Latino populations such as Maine, Montana, and West Virginia were also among the lowest for prevalence of anti-Hispanic language in tweets. Because anti-Hispanic slurs have largely not been reclaimed by Hispanic and Latino people in the way that the N-word is commonly used in black communities, it's more likely that the usage of these anti-Hispanic slurs reflects actual racial hostility.

But these states don't necessarily show a uniform level of racist language use. California does contain the five cities with the highest usage of anti-Hispanic slurs: Bakersfield at 24, followed by Chula Vista, Modesto, Fontana, and Riverside. But it's also home to low-ranking Oakland (three), Irvine (four), and Sacramento (four). Texas is likewise host to a patchwork of cities with a wide range of usage rates for these slurs.

Sexist Sentiments

With Hillary Clinton a major contender in the 2016 presidential race, much attention has recently been given to the prevalence of sexist attitudes across the country. We've tracked the usage of derogatory terms commonly used in reference to women on both the state and city level to see how often residents of different regions openly use these words on Twitter.

Louisiana ranks first in the country for usage of derogatory language against women with 894 uses of these terms per 100,000 tweets, and as we'll see, this is largely due to the influence of two major cities. In second place is Texas with 659 uses per 100,000, and Maryland comes in third at 650. However, these figures included uses of the word "bitch," which is commonly used as profanity but not always with sexist intent. When this term is excluded from our analysis, the rankings show a dramatic shift.

Excluding "bitch" changes the landscape of sexist slurs drastically. Nevada is now in the lead with 133 uses of other sexist terms (such as "twat" and "cunt") per 100,000 tweets. Given that the adult film industry in the United States has largely relocated from California to Nevada due to more favorable laws, it's possible that such terms are more frequently being used in promotional materials. New Hampshire (121), Rhode Island (115), and Ohio (114) also rank highly.

Among cities across the nation, New Orleans ranks first for usage of all sexist language (including "bitch"), with 3,696 tweets per 100,000. Atlanta ranks second with 3,212, and Louisiana continues to be strongly represented as Baton Rouge places third with 2,698. Other notable appearances include Houston, TX (2,353) and Baltimore, MD (2,323). As seen among the states, omitting "bitch" and focusing on the remaining slurs results in a somewhat different picture of sexist language use by America's cities.

With the exclusion of "bitch," Atlanta rises from second place to first - but it's rate of usage is reduced by more than half, to 1,580 per 100,000 tweets. Newark, NJ rises from eighth place to second, while New Orleans falls from first place to fourth. Uses of "bitch" accounted for more than two-thirds of New Orleans' unadjusted rate of derogatory language against women, which drops to 1,145 when this is omitted. Yet even with this more narrow set of terms, tweets including language against women are some of the most common out of all categories studied.

Expressions of Homophobia

Both social and legal attitudes toward the gay, lesbian, and bisexual community have undergone a significant shift in the United States in just the past few years. But how common are expressions of homophobic language even now? We analyzed the prevalence of several anti-gay and anti-lesbian terms in tweets from cities across the country.

Compared with the usage of slurs in other categories, anti-gay language remains commonplace. Buffalo, NY leads with 168 slur-containing tweets per 100,000 tweets, but this number is hardly extraordinary compared with runners-up Arlington, TX (161), Riverside, CA (158), Fontana, CA (155), and Lincoln, NE (141). Rounding out the top 10 are Bakersfield, CA, Modesto, CA, Oxnard, CA, New Orleans, LA, and Corpus Christi, TX.

Many of these states - Texas, Nebraska, and Louisiana - show a level of support for legal gay marriage that's lower than the national average. However, even traditionally liberal urban areas such as Los Angeles and San Francisco show levels as high as 86.2 and 49.6 per 100,000 tweets, respectively. It's uncertain how much this may reflect more neutral in-group reclamation and use of terms such as "fag," "dyke," and "lesbo."

Transgender Language

Transgender people, historically an obscure and not widely known group, have increasingly received media coverage throughout 2014 and 2015. While major events such as the coming out of Caitlyn Jenner in 2015 drew attention to the experiences of transgender people in society, much of the public remains unfamiliar with the proper language preferred by trans people. Widespread usage of terms such as "tranny" and "she-male" is still somewhat common, even though these words are generally considered slurs by the community.

Across the country, Nevada comes in first by far, with 27.6 tweets containing anti-transgender slurs per 100,000 - more than three times greater than the runner-up. This may be due to the same effect seen among sexist language: As a national hub of the adult film industry, tweets originating from there could more often be using these traditionally negative terms in a promotional and marketing context. When Nevada, a clear outlier, is omitted, a more detailed picture emerges.

Excluding Nevada, New York now ranks first with 8.8 slur-containing tweets per 100,000, followed by Florida with 8.6. Maryland (eight), Mississippi (7.7), and California (7.3) also placed highly. California and New York are often at the vanguard of LGBT rights and activism, and a study from the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that these states are home to a significant transgender population. These states could be home to greater discussion of these issues, including discussions with negative terms. A city-level look at these trends reveals the different patterns seen in each state.

Las Vegas (99 per 100,000) is responsible for nearly all recorded anti-transgender tweets in Nevada, further suggesting a link to increased usage by the adult industry. Interestingly, no cities in New York stood out for their usage of negative language in tweets, suggesting that such tweets may be more diffuse. Florida, however, shows a highly localized pattern: Orlando is second in the nation with 80 such tweets per 100,000, followed by Tampa with 30 and Miami with 24.

Repeating a trend seen in previous maps, some of the states with the most usage of anti-transgender language on Twitter also show some of the highest usage of neutral language such as "transgender," "trans person" and "trans people." New York places first in the nation with 23 tweets containing neutral terms per 100,000, with runner-up Nevada having 18.7. Following are Oregon (17.5), Massachusetts (16.4), California (15.8), and Washington state (14.8). Overall, much of this neutral or positive language originated from states with relatively high estimated transgender populations. Conversely, states with low transgender populations, including much of the interior West, Midwest, and South, showed low levels of both slur-containing and neutral-language tweets.

Discussing Disability

Insults like the noun "retard" or the adjective "retarded" are often used casually, without much thought to their origin with dated terminology such as "mentally retarded" for intellectual disabilities. In recent years, many major organizations including the Special Olympics have spoken out against the pejorative usage of words like "retard" and "retarded," branding them as "the R-word."

Use of "retard" in tweets is most common in Nevada with 16.4 such tweets per 100,000, followed by Ohio with 14.1. New York (13.8), Massachusetts (12.8), and New Jersey (12.3) ranked highly as well. The lowest rates of tweets containing this language were seen in Mississippi (3.5), Arkansas (3.7), and Montana (4.2). Although these rates don't strongly correlate with states' percentages of learning-disabled students or children with elevated blood levels of lead, high-ranking Ohio does show a greater proportion of students with learning disabilities (4.2%), while Arkansas has a lower proportion (0.8%). However, given that serious discussions of intellectual disabilities are unlikely to feature outdated terms like "retard," it's likely the case that these words are mostly being used as insults.

Obesity and Overweight: Negative and Neutral Terms

While obesity is highly prevalent in the United States, many media outlets have drawn increasing attention to movements for body positivity and acceptance, as well as the issue of stigma against overweight people. This fat-shaming can take the form of language such as "fattie," "fatso," and "fatass."

Tweets with anti-overweight language occur in an eclectic pattern: Louisiana leads with 91.6 per 100,000 tweets, followed by Texas with 72.7 and Nevada with 61.1. Next are Delaware (58.8), Maryland (57.8), Ohio (56), and California (54.5).

Curiously, these tweets show a mixed relationship to the actual obesity levels recorded in each state. While Louisiana, Texas, Delaware, and Ohio exhibit moderately high obesity rates, California has one of the lowest rates in the country, and Nevada and Maryland show only moderate levels of obesity. Mississippi, Arkansas, and West Virginia all experience high rates of obesity, but tweeted anti-overweight language very infrequently. Additionally, residents of Texas, Nevada, and California report frequently exercising at rates higher than the national average, yet residents of Louisiana, Delaware, Maryland, and Ohio exercise at lower rates. Overall, the use of disparaging language for overweight people in a given state doesn't appear to be related to the presence or absence of the overweight and obese, nor does it clearly relate to a state's reported levels of physical activity.

We also counted usage of more tolerant language toward overweight people, such as "people of size," "person of size," and "plus size." Maryland (3.8), California (3), North Carolina (3), New York (2.9), and Louisiana (2.6) make the top five for tweets using this more neutral language, which is notably much less common than fat-stigmatizing language. However, with the exception of Louisiana, none of these states exhibit particularly high levels of obesity - or rates of frequent exercise.

Finding a Home That's Right For You

While the scale of hostility expressed openly on Twitter can be troubling to think about, there are many positive signs as well, such as the relative rarity of certain slurs and how they're often eclipsed by more tolerant language. When community values can vary so widely across the nation, you deserve a home that fits who you are and what you cherish. At ABODO.com, we can help you find local apartments that meet your needs. With over a million to choose from, the options are almost limitless. Visit ABODO to find an apartment near you to rent.

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When you're searching for a place to call home, one of the most important aspects to consider is your compatibility with an area's culture and values. In a nation as diverse as the United States, attitudes on a wide array of social issues can vary significantly from coast to coast, and Americans frequently choose to live near those who agree with them on important personal ideals.

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In a major civil rights decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 15 that federal law protects workers from job discrimination based on their sexual orientation or expression. Until the ruling, 27 states did not have statewide laws banning such discrimination.

While this is progress for LGBTQ rights, the Trump administration on June 12 reversed an Obama era regulation protecting transgender people from discrimination when it comes to health care and health insurance. The new policy re-defines gender under the law as male or female, versus the Obama-era definition of gender as a person's "internal sense of being male, female, neither or a combination."

Across the United States, Americans have increasingly embraced equal treatment and access for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) Americans over the last decade. According to a Gallup poll in 2019, 63% of Americans supported same-sex marriage, compared with about 44% in 2010. Some cities are more welcoming to the LGBTQ community than their respective states - Austin, Texas, is one example - but, in general, entire states (rather than just cities within them) are moving toward protecting and empowering their LGBTQ residents.
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In acknowledgement of Pride month, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the states most and least welcoming to the LGBTQ community. We created an index of three measures - hate crimes motivated by gender and sexual orientation reported per 100,000 people, laws protecting the LGTBQ community, and the percentage of each state's population who identifies as LGTBQ - to identify the best and worst states for LGBTQ people.

Some 396 pro-equality bills were introduced in states across the country in 2019, and 84 of them became law, according to the Human Rights Campaign's 2019 State Equality Index. The annual report analyzes each state laws and policies affecting LGBTQ people, assessing how well states are doing to protect LGBTQ individuals from discrimination.
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While there has been no doubt progress toward equality, anti-equality activists and politicians still have a lot of influence - in some states more than others. In Texas alone, 19 anti-LGBTQ bills were filed in 2019. In Iowa, transgender health care benefits were removed from the state's medical plan. Across the country, 102 anti-LGBTQ bills were introduced, and seven became laws.

Even though the U.S. - and the world - is slowly becoming a more welcoming place for LGBTQ people, there are still many places where same-sex relationships are considered criminal behavior.
49. Wyoming
* LGBTQ population: 3.1% - 5th lowest (total LGBTQ people: 117,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: 4 per 100,000 LGBTQ people - 6th highest (total: 5)

Based on its relatively small LGBTQ population and lack of progress passing laws that protect LGBTQ communities, Alabama is the worst state in the nation for LGBTQ Americans. Unlike the vast majority of states, which have mandatory hate crime reporting laws, Alabama police jurisdictions do not participate in reporting of hate crimes motivated by gender or sexual orientation.

In fact, the state has very few laws that positively affect LGTBQ residents, and plenty of rules that negatively affect LGBTQ communities. For example, in 2017, Gov. Kay Ivey signed legislation that would permit religious agencies to deny placing an adopted child in LGBTQ families. Alabama also restricts inclusion of LGBTQ topics in schools, and the state is one of 26 states that criminalize behaviors that carry low or negligible risk of HIV transmission (such as anti-sodomy laws). Such laws are considered archaic and frequently lead to abuse and discrimination against HIV-positive individuals and harms public health efforts.
48. Montana
* LGBTQ population: 3.3% - 9th lowest (total LGBTQ people: 15,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: 7 per 100,000 LGBTQ people - 2nd highest (total: 1)

Just 3.3% of Wyoming's population identifies as LGBTQ, the ninth lowest such share of any state. Relatively low numbers of LGBTQ state residents could reflect lower likelihood of identifying as LGBTQ and a generally less hospitable state for the community.

Wyoming is the state where Matthew Shepard, a gay college student, was beaten and left to die in the town of Laramie in 1998, in an incident that shocked the nation. There have been other incidents against gay people in recent years, and a gay man who was bullied committed suicide in 2016. Tragic incidents such as these are unfortunately common across the country, but considering the general inhospitable environment in the state, including lacking laws that would protect basic LGBTQ civil rights, these incidents take perhaps additional meaning in Wyoming. Still, there are people in Wyoming who continue to struggle for equal rights under the law. The cities of Casper and Cheyenne held their first pride marches in 2017. Also, about 22,000 people came out in support of University of Wyoming diver Scotia Mullin, an openly gay athlete, who received All-American recognition.
47. North Dakota
* LGBTQ population: 2.9% - 3rd lowest (total LGBTQ people: 24,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: 4 per 100,000 LGBTQ people - 8th highest (total: 1)

As is often the case, certain cities are safer for LGBTQ Americans than a state as a whole. The city of Missoula, where the University of Montana is located, is a progressive bastion in the Big Sky state. Bars and restaurants welcome the the LGBTQ community, which has gay chorus groups and running clubs. Missoula was the first Montana city to pass anti-discrimination laws to protect the LGBTQ community. Other Montana cities considered friendly to gay people are Bozeman and the state capital of Helena.

LGBTQ people still face challenges such as laws that limit them from adopting children. There are no nondiscrimination protections based on gender identity for employment, housing, public accommodations, education, adoption, foster care, insurance, credit, or in jury selection in Montana.
46. Kentucky
* LGBTQ population: 2.7% - the lowest (total LGBTQ people: 16,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: N/A

North Dakota is one of 26 states with laws that criminalize behaviors that carry low or negligible risk of HIV transmission (such as anti-sodomy laws). Such laws are considered archaic and frequently lead to abuse and discrimination against HIV-positive individuals and harms public health efforts.

North Dakota has the smallest population of people who identify as LGBTQ, making up just 2.7% of state residents. As is often the case even in the worst states for LGTBQ Americans, some cities in the state appear to be exceptions to the state as a whole. Fargo and Grand Forks are two of the most LGBTQ-friendly cities in the state. Fargo was the first city in the High Plains state to pass anti-discrimination legislation that shielded gay people, and it also holds the distinction of hosting the longest-running Pride festival in the state. Fargo also hosts an LGBTQ film festival.
45. South Dakota
* LGBTQ population: 3.4% - 10th lowest (total LGBTQ people: 117,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: 3 per 100,000 LGBTQ people - 18th highest (total: 3)

Kentucky is one of 26 states with laws that criminalize behaviors that carry a low or negligible risk of HIV transmission. Kentucky is also one of many states to pass the State Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which allows business owners to opt out of providing service to same-sex couples on religious grounds.
44. Idaho
The city of Morehead made headlines in 2015 when city clerk Kim Davis refused to issue marriage licenses for gay couples, flouting the Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage. That sparked a demonstration by residents in the town, which had passed a nondiscriminatory ordinance several years earlier. Other cities in Kentucky considered tolerant of LGBTQ people are Louisville and Lexington, both of which passed ordinances protecting their civil rights. The state passed The Kentucky Religious Freedom Act in 2013 that some gay groups feared would nullify ordinances enacted to protect their civi liberties.

* LGBTQ population: 3.0% - 4th lowest (total LGBTQ people: 20,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: 5 per 100,000 LGBTQ people - 4th highest (total: 1)

The political climate in South Dakota has not been friendly toward LGBTQ people, where laws limit them from adopting children and where laws criminalize behaviors that carry a low or negligible risk of HIV transmission. The state approved anti-LGBTQ legislation in 2019 that bars public school and kindergarten teachers of up to seventh grade to teach students about what it's like to be transgender. The pro-LGBTQ community managed to convince legislators to reject another bill that would have prevented doctors from providing puberty blockers and gender confirmation procedures.
43. Michigan
* LGBTQ population: 2.8% - 2nd lowest (total LGBTQ people: 36,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: 3 per 100,000 LGBTQ people - 13th highest (total: 1)

There are 11 cities in Idaho that have nondiscrimination ordinances protecting LGBTQ residents from losing employment, housing, or public accommodations on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity. However, no such statewide laws have been passed. In fact, none of Idaho's nondiscrimination laws include sexual orientation and gender identity.

In addition, Idaho is one of nine states to specifically prohibit Medicaid coverage for transition-related care for transgender people, and one of 26 states to criminalize behaviors that carry low or negligible risk of HIV transmission (such as anti-sodomy laws). Such laws are considered archaic and frequently lead to abuse and discrimination against HIV-positive individuals and harms public health efforts.
42. Tennessee
* LGBTQ population: 4.0% - 25th lowest (total LGBTQ people: 311,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: 4 per 100,000 LGBTQ people - 7th highest (total: 13)

Likely due in part to a state law requiring the reporting of hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation, Michigan has one of the highest levels of such hate crimes reported per 100,000 residents. Other laws are less positive for LGTBQ Michigan residents. While the state does not have laws or policies banning LGBTQ people from becoming foster parents, Michigan does have a law permitting discrimination in adoption procedures and foster placement. A bill that would ban the widely-scorned practice of conversion therapy was introduced in April 2019. As of December 2019, however, the bill had not even received a hearing.

Two cities in Michigan stand out as exceptions to the general unfriendly environment for LGTBQ communities. Saugatuck and Douglas, two small beach towns, are popular destinations for gay and lesbian travelers, and frequently lauded as some of the most gay-friendly small towns in the country.
41. Kansas
* LGBTQ population: 3.5% - 12th lowest (total LGBTQ people: 182,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: 1 per 100,000 LGBTQ people - 7th lowest (total: 2)

Transgender people in Tennessee cannot legally change their gender on ID cards. In 2019, the state considered a bill that would prohibit the adoption or enforcement of local measures that create protections for LGBTQ people. Tennessee passed a bill that can put transgender and non-binary people at increased risk of harassment for using restrooms and locker rooms consistent with their gender identity.

A law allowing discrimination in child welfare services was recently passed. According to the bill, adoption care and foster care agencies that receive funding from the state are allowed to operate under their own religious or moral beliefs, possibly discriminating against potential LGBTQ adoptive or foster parents.
40. South Carolina
* LGBTQ population: 3.3% - 9th lowest (total LGBTQ people: 73,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: 1 per 100,000 LGBTQ people - 13th lowest (total: 1)

Kansas has a law that creates different standards for the age of consent in same-sex and different-sex couples. A "Romeo and Juliet" exception, which prevents violation of age of consent laws if the couple is close in age, does not apply for same-sex couples in Kansas. Laws adversely affecting LGTBQ communities continue to be proposed by state representatives. Lawmakers introduced a bill in 2019 calling same-sex marriages "parody marriages." The bill, which LGBTQ advocacy group Equality Kansas called the "most vile" bill in Kansas' history, did not pass.

As a state, Kansas lacks the nondiscrimination ordinances that many other states in the country have, though some cities have their own. In October 2019, Overland Park, which is the second largest city in the state after Wichita, banned discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
39. Mississippi
* LGBTQ population: 3.3% - 9th lowest (total LGBTQ people: 137,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: 3 per 100,000 LGBTQ people - 12th highest (total: 4)

South Carolina elected its first openly gay state lawmaker in 2017 - an attorney from Greenville and a Republican, but his election has not triggered, as some might have hoped for, a wave of bills protecting LGBTQ people from discrimination. In fact, South Carolina recently introduced a bill in 2019 to make it illegal for transgender children to receive identity-affirming care. As of the beginning of this year, the bill was still under consideration.

South Carolina has laws allowing discrimination in adoption and foster placement, anti-sodomy laws, rules that criminalize HIV and AIDS, and the State Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which allows businesses to opt out serving gay customers on religious grounds.
38. Nebraska
* LGBTQ population: 3.5% - 12th lowest (total LGBTQ people: 79,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: 1 per 100,000 LGBTQ people - 12th lowest (total: 1)

Mississippi was one of several states that considered in 2019 bills making schools less accommodating for LGBTQ youth. The state introduced legislation allowing licensed school employees to misgender students. There is a statewide policy that prohibits educators from discussing LGBTQ topics in schools. Any discussion of LGBTQ topics in schools, according to the policy, has to be presented in a negative way.

Schools are not the only places that are unfriendly to the LGBTQ community. It's legal in Mississippi for state employees and private businesses to deny services to LGBTQ people based on religious objections.
37. Arkansas
* LGBTQ population: 3.8% - 19th lowest (total LGBTQ people: 55,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: 2 per 100,000 LGBTQ people - 20th lowest (total: 1)

While there aren't many specific laws in Nebraska that allow discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, there aren't many that prohibit it either. The state does not ban discrimination in the areas of housing, employment, public accommodations, or even bullying based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Nebraska has no ban on transgender exclusions in state medicaid coverage, and it does not provide transgender-inclusive health benefits to state employees either.

On the positive side, though, the state has a law that addresses hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation (but not gender identity), according to the Human Rights Campaign. Omaha is the only city in Nebraska with an ordinance that bans employers, employment agencies, job training programs, labor groups, public accommodations, and businesses that have contracts with the city from discriminating against people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.
36. Ohio
* LGBTQ population: 3.3% - 9th lowest (total LGBTQ people: 76,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: N/A

LGBTQ residents in Arkansas may face some legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. The state's civil rights laws do not include sexual orientation or gender identity. The state has no restrictions on conversion therapy and no law against hate or bias crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Some parts of Arkansas are friendlier to the gay community than others. Fayetteville, a city of about 87,000 people in the northwest part of the state, for example, organizes one of the largest pride parades in the state. The city has anti-discrimination laws protecting LGBTQ residents. It's important to note that the state Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that a city could not enforce LGBTQ protections.
35. Virginia
* LGBTQ population: 4.3% - 19th highest (total LGBTQ people: 389,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: 3 per 100,000 LGBTQ people - 17th highest (total: 10)

Sexual orientation is not included in the list of protected classes under Ohio's laws against discrimination. The state issues marriage licenses to same-sex couples and allows LGBTQ people to change their gender on their driver's license, but Ohio has no laws barring discrimination in housing, employment, or public accommodations. LGBTQ residents are not legally protected against hate crimes.

Bigger cities in the state, such as Columbus, Cincinnati, and Cleveland, are more welcoming to the LGBTQ community. They have passed comprehensive LGBTQ-inclusive protections in the areas of housing, employment, and public accommodations.
34. Arizona
* LGBTQ population: 3.9% - 22nd lowest (total LGBTQ people: 257,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: 2 per 100,000 LGBTQ people - 24th lowest (total: 5)

Until very recently, Virginia was not making progress toward equality for the LGBTQ community. In April 2020, a few months after the HRC latest report was published, the state passed several laws that provided anti-discrimination protections to the LGBTQ community, making Virginia the first state in the South to do so. The state made it easier for people to update the gender marker on their birth certificate. The laws will take effect July 1.

While progress has been made, LGBTQ residents still face challenges that non-LGBTQ residents do not. Virginia has legal provisions that allow adoption and foster care agencies to turn away prospective LGBTQ parents on the grounds of religious freedom. The state does not have laws protecting students from discrimination in schools based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.
33. North Carolina
* LGBTQ population: 4.5% - 12th highest (total LGBTQ people: 242,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: 1 per 100,000 LGBTQ people - 10th lowest (total: 3)

Arizona has no statewide laws preventing discrimination in employment, education, or housing against LGBTQ people. However, the state is making progress, introducing 14 and passing one law in 2019 that the Human Rights Campaign assessed as positive for LGBTQ communities. Five cities - Flagstaff, Phoenix, Sedona, Tempe, and Tucson - have nondiscrimination protections.

Arizona also lacks legislation ensuring that transgender people are included in state Medicaid or that they cannot be banned from insurance. LGBTQ youth also lack many key legal protections, including legally mandated inclusive sex education in schools and protection from conversion therapy.

* LGBTQ population: 4.0% - 25th lowest (total LGBTQ people: 319,000)
32. Missouri
* CenterLink pride centers: 3 per 100,000 LGBTQ people - 19th highest (total: 8)

North Carolina made national news and drew nationwide drew criticism for its "bathroom bill" that stated that transgender people have to use public restrooms in state-run buildings that correspond with the sex on their birth certificates. Little progress has been made since then on the state level.

There are currently no explicit statewide nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people in North Carolina, except for state employees and college students. The state does not have a law that specifically bans insurance exclusions for transgender health care. There is also no law that provides state employees with transgender-inclusive health benefits.

Only Charlotte, a major city and commercial hub in North Carolina with a population of about 873,000 people, has legal protections from discriminations based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
31. Louisiana
* LGBTQ population: 3.8% - 19th lowest (total LGBTQ people: 180,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: 2 per 100,000 LGBTQ people - 16th lowest (total: 3)

Basic protections that LGBTQ people lack in Missouri include protection of employment, housing, and public accommodations. Missouri has a total of six laws that protect LGBTQ people - hate crime laws, a college and universities nondiscrimination law, a sexual orientation nondiscrimination policy for state employees, an anti-bullying law specifically for cyberbullying, transgender inclusion in sports, and name and gender updates on identification documents for driver's licenses.

There are, however, five laws that the HRC categorizes as "bad" laws for the LGBTQ community, including laws that criminalize HIV/AIDS, a state Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and transgender exclusions in state Medicaid coverage. There are no parenting laws in the state such as parental presumption for same-sex couples, second parent adoption, or foster care nondiscrimination for LGBTQ people. Missouri also lacks nondiscrimination laws for health insurance.
30. West Virginia
* LGBTQ population: 3.9% - 22nd lowest (total LGBTQ people: 139,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: N/A

Aside from New Orleans, where LGBTQ people feel welcome and that hosts one of the largest gay pride parades in the country, an event first held there in 1971, LGBTQ people may face legal challenges that non-LGBTQ residents don't face. That state has no anti-discrimination laws that protect LGBTQ people in the areas of employment, housing, public accommodations, bullying, education, or transgender health care. There are no restrictions on conversion therapy.

Public opinion on same-sex marriage is not favorable in the state, lagging behind national opinion, according to a 2016 survey by the Louisiana State University. About 53% of residents are against same-sex marriage, and 41% are in favor. A year before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriages are legal, Louisiana became the first state to uphold its same-sex marriage ban.
29. Oklahoma
* LGBTQ population: 4.0% - 25th lowest (total LGBTQ people: 58,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: 2 per 100,000 LGBTQ people - 17th lowest (total: 1)

Over the last several years, West Virginia lawmakers have tried to update the state's Human Rights Act to include protections for LGBTQ people, but they have not yet succeeded. Some state officials have openly said they would not support such legislation, prompting state Senate President Mitch Carmichael to say, "[W]e have to get out of this concept in West Virginia that there is something to fear from that segment of our population." Recently, the state even considered legislation that would prohibit protections for LGBTQ people that don't already exist under state law.

While no counties in West Virginia have adopted LGBTQ-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinances, 13 cities have adopted full protection based on sexual orientation in private employment, housing, and public accommodations, according to LGBTQ Map, a movement advancement project.
28. Indiana
* LGBTQ population: 3.8% - 19th lowest (total LGBTQ people: 113,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: 1 per 100,000 LGBTQ people - 5th lowest (total: 1)

"Oklahoma is considered to be one of the harshest environments for LGBTQ people to live," according to Allie Shinn, the executive director of Freedom Oklahoma. The state's civil rights law does not include sexual orientation or gender identity, leaving the LGBTQ community living in Oklahoma vulnerable to discrimination in areas like housing, employment, education, and more.

A 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey found that 26% of transgender respondents from the state had been fired, denied a promotion, or not hired because of their gender identity or expression. Verbal harassment, physical assault, getting evicted, and being denied service because people identify as LGBTQ are common in the state as well, according to the survey.
27. Texas
* LGBTQ population: 4.5% - 12th highest (total LGBTQ people: 229,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: 2 per 100,000 LGBTQ people - 18th lowest (total: 4)

Though Indiana has made some progress in advancing equality of LGBTQ residents by making parental presumption of parentage for same-sex married couples the law, by allowing gender marker updates on driver's licenses, and by banning discrimination in foster placement of LGBTQ youth, there are currently no comprehensive civil rights protections in place for LGBTQ individuals at the state level.

In 2015, then-Gov. Mike Pence signed a religious freedom bill, causing national uproar. The law has been interpreted as fostering discrimination by allowing businesses to deny services to LGBTQ residents.
26. Alaska
* LGBTQ population: 4.1% - 22nd highest (total LGBTQ people: 858,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: 2 per 100,000 LGBTQ people - 19th lowest (total: 15)

Texas lacks statewide nondiscrimination laws protecting LGBTQ people in virtually all areas, including employment, housing, education, adoption, state employees, and more. It is also one of 10 states that permits child welfare organizations to discriminate against potential LGBTQ parents in adoptions based on religious objections.

Still, the capital of Texas, Austin, is considered one of the most LGBTQ-friendly cities in America. Several other major Texas cities - including Dallas, San Antonio, and El Paso - protect people from discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity.
25. Pennsylvania
* LGBTQ population: 3.7% - 15th lowest (total LGBTQ people: 21,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: 5 per 100,000 LGBTQ people - 5th highest (total: 1)

Though several large cities in Alaska have passed local laws protecting LGBTQ residents from discrimination in several areas, there are no statewide nondiscrimination laws, except when it comes to colleges and universities. In terms of health and safety, a "bad" law, as defined by the HRC, explicitly allows for transgender exclusions in state Medicaid coverage.

The state has more Pride centers affiliated with CenterLink, a network of pride and community centers around the country, than most other states. There are five such establishments per 100,000 LGBTQ residents, the fifth highest rate in the country.
24. Florida
* LGBTQ population: 4.1% - 22nd highest (total LGBTQ people: 416,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: 5 per 100,000 LGBTQ people - 3rd highest (total: 22)

Philadelphia is among the friendliest cities to LGBTQ people. The City of Brotherly Love was even among the first places in the U.S. to have a gay pride parade, in 1972. Outside of Philly, however, Pennsylvania is not so friendly. The state lacks basic nondiscrimination laws, leaving LGBTQ people vulnerable to being fired or denied housing.

However, Pennsylvania does offer protection in a few areas, including trans health care, state Medicaid, colleges, and adoption. The state introduced bills to prohibit LGBTQ "panic" defense, which uses the victim's sexual orientation or gender expression to justify the defendant's violent reaction to the victim.
23. Wisconsin
* LGBTQ population: 4.6% - 10th highest (total LGBTQ people: 772,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: 2 per 100,000 LGBTQ people - 20th highest (total: 19)

Florida lacks nondiscrimination laws in every area considered by the Human Rights Campaign, including employment, housing, education, adoption, higher education, insurance, and more. Florida is also one of just a handful of states that has not repealed its laws forbidding certain sexual practices, despite the U.S. Supreme Court ruling those laws unconstitutional in 2003.

Florida has one of the lower rates of hate crimes motivated by gender identity or sexual orientation. However, it was the site of the deadliest attack on LGBTQ people in American history, when in 2016 a gunman killed 49 people and injured dozens more at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando.
22. Utah
* LGBTQ population: 3.8% - 19th lowest (total LGBTQ people: 171,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: 2 per 100,000 LGBTQ people - 22nd highest (total: 4)

Similar to several other states that don't rank among the friendliest for the LGBTQ residents, Wisconsin has at least one LGBTQ friendly city. Madison has had active organizations for homosexual rights at least since the late 1970s. The city extends protections to employment, housing, and public accommodations, and its school district has a liaison for LGBTQ students.

Statewide, however, Wisconsin offers protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation but not gender identity. The state does not have a law against harassment or bullying of LGBTQ people, and there is no ban on insurance exclusions for transgender health care or a policy providing transgender health benefits to state employees.
21. Georgia
* LGBTQ population: 3.7% - 15th lowest (total LGBTQ people: 80,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: 1 per 100,000 LGBTQ people - 11th lowest (total: 1)

LGBTQ people in Utah have just one pride center at their disposal. The state has laws protecting people from discrimination, on the basis of both sexual orientation and gender identity, in the areas of employment, housing, adoption, and higher education.

However, Utah has no health and safety laws for members of the LGBTQ community. There are no laws ensuring transgender people are included in health care coverage and no laws allowing updates to gender markers on birth certificates or drivers licenses.
20. Hawaii
* LGBTQ population: 4.5% - 12th highest (total LGBTQ people: 356,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: 1 per 100,000 LGBTQ people - 8th lowest (total: 4)

Georgia has no statewide laws or specific policy addressing hate crimes, parenting, discrimination, or relationship recognitions based on one's sexual orientation or gender identity. The state does not offer the possibility of changing one's gender on a driver's license or birth certificate, and it has a law allowing for transgender exclusions in state Medicaid coverage.

On a more positive note, progress toward equality may not be far into the future. About two-thirds of Georgia residents favor basic nondiscrimination laws that would protect LGBTQ people in employment, public accommodations, and housing, while less than a third are opposed, according to the Public Religion Research Institute.
19. Washington
* LGBTQ population: 4.6% - 10th highest (total LGBTQ people: 52,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: 2 per 100,000 LGBTQ people - 23rd lowest (total: 1)

Hawaii has comprehensive employment protections for LGBTQ residents after including transgender people in legislation in 2011. It also has nondiscrimination laws in housing, education, and foster care.

In 2019, Hawaii was one of five states to outlaw LGBTQ "panic" defenses, which are legal strategies that blame violent hate crime victims for attacks committed against them because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
18. Iowa
* LGBTQ population: 5.2% - 5th highest (total LGBTQ people: 300,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: 2 per 100,000 LGBTQ people - 25th highest (total: 6)

Washington is among a handful of states that have introduced bills to ban LGBTQ "panic" defenses, which, the HRC argues, legitimizes violence against LGBTQ people and prevents them from receiving equal justice. Washington had the highest ratio of hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation or gender per 100,000 people in 2018. While such crimes tend to be grossly underreported, Washington hate crime laws are enumerated for sexual orientation and gender identity and police departments are required by law to report hate crime statistics - both are considered positive laws by the Human Rights Campaign.

Though it has more work to do, Washington has made significant progress toward equality from a civil rights point of view. The state has nondiscrimination laws covering housing, employment, relationship recognition, hate crimes, public accommodations, education, and bullying in school. LGBTQ youth are protected from conversion therapy, and LGBTQ residents are allowed to change their gender on driver's licenses and birth certificates.
17. New Jersey
* LGBTQ population: 3.6% - 13th lowest (total LGBTQ people: 87,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: 1 per 100,000 LGBTQ people - 9th lowest (total: 1)

Though politicians recently removed transgender health care benefits from the state's medical plan, several bills were introduced about enforcing nondiscrimination rules on college campuses. Iowa has several statewide nondiscrimination laws covering employment, housing, public accommodations, insurance, and credit, though religious exemptions are also legal.

The number of reported hate crimes per 100,000 LGBTQ people in the state is among the lowest in the country. However, that may be partially due to the fact that laws regarding hate crimes targeting the LGBTQ community cover only sexual orientation.
16. Connecticut
* LGBTQ population: 4.1% - 22nd highest (total LGBTQ people: 288,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: 3 per 100,000 LGBTQ people - 9th highest (total: 9)

New Jersey has nondiscrimination laws that protect LGBTQ people in the areas of housing, employment, education, and public accommodations. It also recently passed a law prohibiting the placement of LGBTQ people, among other vulnerable people, in solitary confinement.

New Jersey is among a few states in the country that recently passed laws that aim to create more inclusive school curriculums by incorporating political, economic, and cultural contributions of LGBTQ people.
15. Minnesota
* LGBTQ population: 3.9% - 22nd lowest (total LGBTQ people: 111,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: 3 per 100,000 LGBTQ people - 15th highest (total: 3)

Connecticut ranks among the better states for LGBTQ people in large part because of its wide-ranging legal protections. The state has multiple laws protecting LGBTQ youth and adults from discrimination, as well as their abilities to adopt. It also has strong hate crime laws and thorough health and safety laws.

However, Connecticut does allow for religious exemptions from nondiscrimination laws based on both sexual orientation and gender identity. It also has a higher share of LGBTQ-related hate crimes per 100,000 people than most other states.
14. New Hampshire
* LGBTQ population: 4.1% - 22nd highest (total LGBTQ people: 175,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: 1 per 100,000 LGBTQ people - 4th lowest (total: 1)

Minnesota has been on other lists of the country's most LGBT-friendly states in the past. The HRC recognized in older reports several major cities in the state for their comprehensive policies â€" which have now been implemented statewide - protecting the LGBTQ community. Minneapolis has even been called the "gayest city in America" by Advocate, the national gay news magazine.

Though the state has no restrictions on conversion therapy, it has a law that addresses hate or bias crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity and the bullying of LGBTQ students. The state does not allow the exclusion of transgender health care and allows LGBTQ people to change their gender on driver's licenses and birth certificates.
13. Massachusetts
* LGBTQ population: 4.7% - 9th highest (total LGBTQ people: 51,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: 2 per 100,000 LGBTQ people - 25th lowest (total: 1)

New Hampshire has some of the highest concentrations of LGBTQ people relative to the total total population as well as some of the lowest rates of reported hate crimes against the LGBTQ community. The state was regarded as a friendlier state to LGBTQ people compared to most other states by a recent PRRI poll, which showed high support for sex-marriage and LGBTQ rights in general.

Though the state does not have a law that addresses discrimination against students based on sexual orientation and gender identity, New Hampshire also does not have a ban on insurance exclusions for transgender health care.
12. Colorado
* LGBTQ population: 5.4% - 3rd highest (total LGBTQ people: 296,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: 1 per 100,000 LGBTQ people - 6th lowest (total: 3)

Massachusetts is one of just a handful of states in which more than 5% of state residents identify as LGBTQ. The state has numerous laws and protections for members of the community. It also has no laws on the books considered "bad" by the HRC - laws that could restrict the freedoms or protections of LGBTQ people.

Massachusetts has a very high rate of hate crimes based on gender identity or sexual orientation - the second highest rate overall. This is likely due in large part to state laws requiring police departments to report hate crime statistics, as well as laws that enumerate crimes motivated by both sexual orientation and gender identity.
11. Maryland
* LGBTQ population: 4.5% - 12th highest (total LGBTQ people: 200,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: 3 per 100,000 LGBTQ people - 10th highest (total: 6)

Colorado was one of a few states that took steps in 2019 to restrict conversion therapies. Health care providers are barred from trying such practices on LGBTQ youth. The state also passed several bills to make schools safer for LGBTQ students and to create more inclusive curriculums.

Colorado has no laws that the HRC identifies as "bad." LGBTQ residents in Colorado cannot be denied housing or be evicted and cannot be fired or denied employment because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. The state allows gender marker updates on both driver's licenses and birth certificates.
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* LGBTQ population: 4.2% - 21st highest (total LGBTQ people: 198,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: 2 per 100,000 LGBTQ people - 14th lowest (total: 3)
9. Illinois
Maryland is one of 17 states that are in the HRC's highest-ranked category of "working toward innovative equality." The state has nondiscrimination laws protecting the LGBTQ community in housing, employment, and public accommodations. Maryland bans exclusions for transgender health care, and provides transgender health benefits to state employees.

State school officials are working on curriculum standards for history classes that will include lessons about LGBTQ and the community's fight for civil rights. Maryland also has a law that addresses bullying of students based on their sexual orientation or gender expression.

* LGBTQ population: 4.5% - 12th highest (total LGBTQ people: 38,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: 3 per 100,000 LGBTQ people - 16th highest (total: 1)
8. Maine
Rhode Island ranks as one of the 10 best states for LGBTQ people largely because of the health and safety laws protecting the community. It has laws providing protections for health care through the Affordable Care Act, ensuring that transgender people cannot be excluded from health care. The state also collects data on the health and well being of LGBTQ youth and adults.

Rhode Island has improved protections for LGBTQ people substantially in recent years. Over the past decade, it has passed 17 such bills. No bills that sought to restrict freedom or protections for LGBTQ people have even been introduced since 2015, according to HRC.

* LGBTQ population: 4.3% - 19th highest (total LGBTQ people: 426,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: 2 per 100,000 LGBTQ people - 21st lowest (total: 8)
7. New Mexico
Illinois is one of three states that recently passed a law designating all public single-occupancy restrooms as gender neutral. Illinois is also one of eight states that have banned LGBTQ "panic" defenses, which the HRC considers an important step towards ending the legitimization of violence against LGBTQ people.

In general, Illinois is considered one of the most progressive states in the country. Last year, the state became the fifth in the U.S. to pass a law requiring schools to teach LGBTQ history and include the positive contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in their curriculum.

* LGBTQ population: 4.9% - 8th highest (total LGBTQ people: 53,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: 2 per 100,000 LGBTQ people - 22nd lowest (total: 1)
6. Delaware
Maine made great strides in 2019, passing five bills protecting the health and rights of its LGBTQ residents. It has among the strongest laws against hate crimes, which include eliminating "panic" defenses, making it mandatory to report such incidents, and prohibiting profiling by law enforcement.

Maine also has no laws on the books considered "bad" by the HRC, including religious and moral exemptions to anti-discrimination laws.

* LGBTQ population: 4.5% - 12th highest (total LGBTQ people: 72,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: 3 per 100,000 LGBTQ people - 13th highest (total: 2)
5. California
Like Illinois, New Mexico has designated all public single-occupancy restrooms as gender neutral and has banned LGBTQ "panic" defenses. The state protects LGBTQ people from discrimination in many areas, including employment, housing, and public accommodations. However, New Mexico has no state laws, administrative policies, or court decisions that explicitly ban discrimination in jury selection on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

The only "bad" law, according to the HRC is the State Religious Freedom Restoration Act that undermines state nondiscrimination protections as marriage-service providers can discriminate on the basis of their religion.

* LGBTQ population: 4.5% - 12th highest (total LGBTQ people: 34,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: 3 per 100,000 LGBTQ people - 11th highest (total: 1)
4. Oregon
Delaware advertises itself as a gay-friendly tourist destination, specifically citing its beaches and nightlife. In most cases, LGBTQ people in Delaware enjoy the same legal protections as non-LGBTQ residents. Nondiscrimination laws include housing, employment, and public accommodations. LGBTQ residents cannot be discriminated against if they want to have a baby via a surrogate, though there is no law banning discrimination against LGBTQ youth in foster care placement.

The state allows gender marker updates on both driver's licenses and birth certificates and has banned conversion therapies.

* LGBTQ population: 5.3% - 4th highest (total LGBTQ people: 1,615,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: 2 per 100,000 LGBTQ people - 23rd highest (total: 37)
3. New York
Legally, there is no division between LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ residents in California. The state has only "good" laws benefitting the LGBTQ community and no "bad" laws at all that discriminate against LGBTQ people, according to the HRC. Nondiscrimination, parenting, hate crimes, youth, health and safety, and religious laws and policies all cover sexual orientation as well as gender identity.

California, which accounts for about 77% of LGBTQ adults living in the Pacific states, according to UCLA, is one of eight states that have enacted legislation banning the use of the LGBTQ "panic" defense.

* LGBTQ population: 5.6% - the highest (total LGBTQ people: 183,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: 2 per 100,000 LGBTQ people - 15th lowest (total: 3)
2. Vermont
No state has a higher share of LGBTQ people in its population, at 5.6%. The state has nondiscrimination laws covering many important areas, including employment, housing, education, adoption, and more. It has made great strides in the past decade, passing 27 bills that brought Oregon's LGBTQ population closer to equality.

However, Oregon had 31 hate crimes motivated by gender identity or sexual orientation reported in 2018, one of the highest hate crime rates among states.

* LGBTQ population: 5.1% - 7th highest (total LGBTQ people: 800,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: 2 per 100,000 LGBTQ people - 24th highest (total: 18)
1. Nevada
New York has special significance to the LGBTQ community, as the Stonewall riots of 1969 in New York City helped spark massive changes in the nation's understanding of LGBTQ issues and paved the way for more equality to the LGBTQ community.

Today, New York ranks as one of the best states for LGBTQ people. In the last decade, the state legislature has passed 30 laws protecting the rights and safety of its LGBTQ residents. The state has some of the most comprehensive non discrimination laws of any state.

* LGBTQ population: 5.2% - 5th highest (total LGBTQ people: 26,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: 12 per 100,000 LGBTQ people - the highest (total: 3)

Vermont ranks as one of the best states for LGBTQ people. It provides better access to CenterLink pride centers than any other state. Vermont has an estimated 26,000 LGBTQ people and three pride centers.

The state also has some of the most comprehensive health and safety laws for LGBTQ residents among all states. It ensures that transgender people cannot be excluded from health care. Vermont also collects data on the health and well being of LGBTQ youth and adults. It also has extensive nondiscrimination laws.

* LGBTQ population: 5.5% - 2nd highest (total LGBTQ people: 127,000)

* CenterLink pride centers: 2 per 100,000 LGBTQ people - 21st highest (total: 3)

Nevada ranks as the best state in America for LGBTQ people. It has a relatively low share of hate crimes motivated by gender identity or sexual orientation. It also has nearly all laws suggested by the HRC for LGBTQ rights, including nondiscrimination laws, parenting laws, statutes against hate crimes, and those ensuring protections for health care access.

Nevada passed 34 laws protecting the rights and safety of its LGBTQ residents from 2009 to 2019. The state also has no laws considered infringing on these protections, according to the HRC.
24/7 Wall Street is a USA TODAY content partner offering financial news and commentary. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY.
Methodology

To identify the best and worst states for LGBTQ people, 24/7 Wall St. created an index of three measures: hate crimes reported per 100,000 people, laws protecting LGTBQ communities, and the percentage of each state's population who identify as LGTBQ. Each of these three measures were weighted equally in the index.

1. Hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation, gender, and gender identity, reported to police departments for every 100,000 people came from the Hate Crime Statistics Program of the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program for 2018 - the most recent year for which data is available. We combined these three hate crime types and adjusted to population figures used by the FBI in the crime report.

2. State laws affecting LGBTQ communities came from the Human Rights Campaign's 2019 State Equality Index, which defined such laws as positive or negative to LGBTQ Americans. The Equality Index classified each state into one of four categories: "high priority for basic equality," "building equality," "solidifying equality," "working toward innovative equality." 24/7 Wall St. assigned scores to each of the categories that could be normalized for the index. States that were labeled a "high priority for basic equality" received the lowest score, while states that were "working toward innovative equality" were ranked higher on our list.

3. The size of each state's LGBTQ population came from the UCLA School of Law Williams Institute, a research organization that collects data and research on gender identity and sexual identity policy.

The number of pride centers in each state came from CenterLink, a network of pride and community centers around the country. It is important to note that there are many pride centers across the United States that are not part of the CenterLink network. We adjusted the number of centers to the number of LGBTQ residents in each state.

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Supreme Court decision aside, some states are better - and some are worse - for LGBTQ community

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In a major civil rights decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 15 that federal law protects workers from job discrimination based on their sexual orientation or expression. Until the ruling, 27 states did not have statewide laws banning such discrimination.

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Mapping LGBTQ Equality: 2010 to 2020presents a fresh perspective on the current status of LGBTQ equality in the states by examining MAP's policy tally, encompassing nearly 40 LGBTQ-related laws and policies across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the five U.S. territories as of January 1, 2020. The report also compares the current status of LGBTQ policy landscape to the status of these same laws as of January 1, 2010.

MAP's policy tally aggregates these laws and policies into a concise yet comprehensive way to gauge the LGBTQ-related policy landscape across the country. What emerges in 2020 is a patchwork of positive LGBTQ laws and policies, with variations both by region and area of law, as well as a remarkable growth in both the policy accomplishments and challenges facing LGBTQ people over the past decade.

While these changes over the past 10 years show remarkable progress toward LGBTQ equality, they also importantly show the significant work remaining-whether in criminal justice, identity documents, and more- as well as the new or increasing challenges that have arisen in recent years, such as the growth of religious exemptions. The findings presented in the report illustrate how an LGBTQ person's legal rights and protections can change dramatically across state lines, even in 2020. It is critical that advocates for LGBTQ equality continue to work for progress in cities and counties, in state legislatures, and in the halls of Congress.

Movement Advancement Project. February 2020. Mapping LGBTQ Equality: 2010 to 2020. www.lgbtmap.org/2020-tally-report. [Date of access].

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Movement Advancement Project | 2020 Tally Report

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This report presents a fresh perspective on the current status of LGBTQ equalitya in the states by examining MAP's policy tally, encompassing nearly 40 LGBTQ-related laws and policies across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the five U.S. territories as of January 1, 2020.

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Many businesses now identify as gay-friendly, allowing for a more diversified employee and customer base. The Human Rights Campaign works to achieve equality for gays, lesbians, and other marginalized minorities, and publishes a list of companies in relation to issues concerning LGBT people. Companies that are noted for gay-friendly work environments include Dell Inc.

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Nevada is excluded from this as they have a high number of tweets