HRC Releases State Equality Index; Pennsylvania Fails Miserably

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It’s time to re-take Equality 101, Pennsylvania.

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) just released its State Equality Index, and things aren’t looking too good for Pennsylvania: They’ve ranked our state in the worst, most embarrassing category, “High Priority to Achieve Basic Equality.” States that rank in this area are described by HRC as having “bad laws undermining LGBT equality, from criminalization of HIV and sodomy, to religious-based discrimination. None have explicit statewide non-discrimination protections for sexual orientation or gender identity.”

The ranking is based on several key factors for every state. Pennsylvania has failing marks in the following categories, according to HRC:

• “State does not prohibit housing discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.”
• “State does not prohibit employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.”
• “State does not have a law that addresses hate or bias crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity.”
• “State does not prohibit discrimination in public accommodations based on sexual orientation and gender identity.”
• “State does not have a law that addresses harassment and/or bullying of students based on sexual orientation and gender identity.”
• “State does not have a law that addresses discrimination against students based on sexual orientation and gender identity.”

The Equality Report Card also notes that the state has “Religious Freedom Restoration Acts,” “HIV/AIDS Criminalization Laws,” and “Transgender Exceptions in State Medicaid.”

Pretty grim, right? Despite major progress with marriage equality and adoption—which the HRC does recognize in the report—there’s an overwhelming list of “negatives” that need to be fixed.

The states that rank the highest in the new report are California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington.

You can read the full report here.