Town of Amherst Celebrates Large Improvement in LGBTQ+ Rights Score

After a humbling 2023 score on local LGBTQ+ protections, the town of Amherst has now earned itself a 99%. Amherst is one of 506 cities indexed nationwide by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation on 49 criteria measuring local LGBTQ+ protections.

The most significant improvement was within the metric evaluating LGBTQ+ equality in the workplace. The town climbed from 50% to 100% in this category with the introduction of transgender-inclusive healthcare benefits, a policy ensuring all city contractors have an employee non-discrimination policy, and the town’s designation as an inclusive workplace with LGBTQ+ resources and programming.

Town Manager Paul Bockelman celebrated the score in the town’s Nov. 25 announcement.

“We are honored to receive this high score, as it represents our town’s dedication to creating a community where everyone feels welcomed and valued,” Bockelman said. “This achievement is a testament to the hard work of our town departments, community leaders, and advocates who strive to ensure that Amherst is an inclusive space for all.”

“Amherst has long been a welcoming and supportive community for the LGBTQIA+ population, and this year’s score is a reflection of its ongoing dedication to fostering equality, acceptance, and respect for all,” Assistant Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Philip Avila wrote.  The 2022 establishment of the department of DEI “has enhanced our focus on advocating for marginalized groups.”

The department of DEI has also been key in overseeing the town’s improvements in the past year.

Amherst ranks second among three surveyed municipalities in Western Massachusetts, between Northampton’s 100/100 and Springfield’s 85/100. While in 2023, Amherst ranked lowest out of all ten considered state municipalities, in 2024, it is on par with the nine other municipalities with scores between 96 and 100.

Director of the Stonewall Center at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Dr. Genny Beemyn, spoke about Amherst’s commitment to LGBTQ+ protections. Beemyn was behind the inclusion of gender identity in the town’s non-discrimination policy in 2009, out of frustration with an administrative “indifference” to encoding policy protections for transgender and non-binary students at UMass.

The Municipal Equality Index (MEI) score consists of accumulated points across five categories: non-discrimination laws, workplace protections for LGBTQ+ employees, city-provided services and programs for LGBTQ+ constituents, adequate law enforcement response to hate crimes against the local LGBTQ+  community, and LGBTQ+ representation in city leadership. 11 of Amherst’s points were earned as bonus points across the categories.

However, Amherst missed out on some extra points by not meeting the qualifications for providing resources for people living with HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ+ people experiencing homelessness.

Director of Public Health Kiko Malin wrote to The Student explaining that the public health department is attuned to and committed to advocating for LGBTQ+ people in the community.

“We … provide education about HIV/AIDS and can make referrals for people to local testing and treatment resources, as well as state programs … The public health department and Community Responders for Equity, Safety, and Service provide support to people navigating homelessness, but don’t specifically target or ask people to identify themselves as a member of the LGBTQ+ community,” Malin wrote.

In 2023, Amherst lost points for a lack of LGBTQ+ liaison positions in the city executive’s office and police department. According to a recent report, a liaison in the Town’s Executive Office had been established but still lacked a position in the police department. Since the report came out, the police department has appointed Detective Marcus Humber as the LGBTQ+ liaison — a voice and advocate for LGBTQ+ Amherst community members within the police department.

According to the town’s Nov. 25 announcement, “the Town is confident of achieving an MEI score of 100 in future years.”

Beemyn noted that policy does not always translate into practice, but emphasized that a high score on this report is an important signaling mechanism to prospective college students and LGBTQ+ refugees seeking a place where they can feel safe.

“HRC’s metric … is useful as a tool to help people decide, if they have the means to move and want to move, where would be the places to go … places like Western Massachusetts,” Beemyn said.

Beemyn’s role at the Stonewall Center puts them in frequent conversations with people who are calculating the rights LGBTQ+ refugees will have in different municipalities across the country. They expect the stakes of these decisions to continue to heighten after Donald Trump’s inauguration.

Despite attacks on LGBTQ+ rights across the country, President of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation Kelley Robinson emphasized that this year’s report contained the highest average national scores in its 13-year history, with over a quarter of cities reaching perfect scores.

“As we look to the future, we must remember that progress [is] about creating communities where everyone feels they truly belong … Local government can be a powerful force for positive change, even in challenging times. They show us that when we stand together, we can build communities that don't just tolerate diversity, but celebrate it,” Robinson wrote in the report.