Missouri Ranks Dead Last in National Survey of LGBTQ+ Equality

But despite the dire portrait by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, local advocates aren’t giving up

Feb 2, 2024 at 6:00 am

St. Louis is an LGBTQ-friendly island in a much more hostile state. Theo Welling

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The Human Rights Campaign Foundation ranks Missouri last in its brand new State Equality Index, the most comprehensive survey of state-level commitment to LGBTQ+ equality. Twenty-three states accompany Missouri in the lowest-rated category on the list, which came out earlier this week.

And yet local advocates say not only are they not giving up — but they see reason for hope.

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation, or HRC, says 2023 marked the worst on record for anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, prompting HRCto declare an unprecedented National State of Emergency for LGBTQ+ Americans. The foundation cites more than 75 anti-LGBTQ+ bills that passed in statehouses across the country in 2023, more than twice the number from 2022.

HRC places Missouri in a tier titled “High Priority to Achieve Basic Equality,” meaning Missouri fails to achieve the most basic of rights for LGBTQ+ people. They attribute that status to state laws and policies that directly harm LGBTQ+ people, and importantly, the lack of laws to protect LGBTQ+ rights.

Yet HRC’s conclusion is never stop fighting back, and that’s a declaration that resonates locally.

PROMO, Missouri’s statewide LGBTQ+ advocacy organization, says the greatest cause for concern is Missouri’s lack of protective legislation for LGBQT+ individuals. These are policies and laws that would ensure basic autonomies and the ability for members of the LGBTQ+ community to live unencumbered lives: specifically, a life with the ability to rent a home, work, or check a book out from the public library free from harassment or discrimination.

HRC condemned two bills that went into effect late last August in Missouri: Senate Bills 39 and 49. SB 49 banned gender-affirming medical care for youth, for individuals seeking care through Medicaid, and for incarcerated people seeking care. Banned medical care includes age-appropriate gender-affirming surgeries and puberty blockers. Access to proper care proves vital for many individuals who experience symptoms of gender dysphoria.

SB 39 prohibits transgender girls and women from competing in sports consistent with their gender identity. The bill applies to public and private K-12 schools, and public and private universities and colleges. If a school violates the rule, it loses all state funding. Lawmakers cite women’s safety for the reasoning behind the bill (although these same advocates for women’s safety have also shown undue interest in what women wear to work and what women do with their bodies).

One month into the current Missouri legislative session, Republican lawmakers are seeking to strip LGBTQ+ individuals of even more rights. The Trans Legislation Tracker is currently tracking 39 anti-trans bills that have been introduced in Missouri, including a bill that would require schools to forcibly out transgender youth to their parents.

But if the reality is terrifying for many trans Missourians in particular, PROMO sees as much reason for hope. Katy Erker-Lynch, executive director of PROMO, has a message for LGBTQ+ Missourians who may find it hard to see a future in their home state. “We want LGBTQ+ folks who call Missouri home to know that what they see in the legislature is not a reflection of what the overwhelming majority of their neighbors value, believe or want.”

St. Louis once again scored a 100, the highest score possible, in HRC’s 2023 Municipal Equality Index (MEI) scorecard. PROMO says St. Louis, Columbia and Kansas City work to support smaller cities in the protection of vulnerable residents across the state. And last spring, hundreds from all corners of the state marched at the Missouri Capitol building to protest the attacks on trans rights.

Erker-Lynch speaks to this energy and its sustained momentum, saying, “LGBTQ+ Missourians refuse to be pushed back into closets, we refuse to be denied life-saving medical care. This fight is about our very lives and our rights to exist as our authentic selves.”

She mentions Senator Greg Razer, the only openly gay Senator currently serving in Missouri's Senate. The Kansas City Democrat views this extremist legislation as a reaction to the growing power of the LGBTQ+ community.

“Senator Razer reminds us that while we may lose battles, we will ultimately win the war.”